Vanity
by originalallisaacs
Summary: AU/AH When new actress Caroline Forbes lands the lead female role in the new movie Ghostly Echoes alongside Klaus Mikaelson, she's almost sure she's died and gone to heaven. Caroline wasn't prepared for Klaus to be so much more attractive in person and she definitely wasn't prepared for him to be such an asshole. Little does Caroline know, the rise to fame can be dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I hope you like this new AU/AH story of mine!**

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any aspect of The Vampire Diaries but the plot is mine._

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Caroline Forbes charged through the front doors of Saltz Productions with her head held high and her back ram rod straight. She was meeting Alaric Saltzman for the first time since she was cast as the female lead his new movie, Ghostly Echoes, and there was a bubbling pit if anxiety in her stomach.

"Don't chicken out now, Forbes," she murmured to herself as her heels clicked against the marble floor. "There's a reason you were given this opportunity. You're a great actress and you will do just fine!"

The elevator doors slid open before she could press the call button and she weaseled her way into the tight corner of the car. Other patrons gathered around her as she stood staring at the ceiling and counted each floor until the car came to a stop at the 9th level.

"Excuse me," she mumbled, elbowing her way out. "Please – excuse me!"

She had made sure to leave her rented penthouse an hour early that morning but she still managed to bolt into the office with only a minute to spare. The receptionist behind the desk barely glanced at her as she stumbled over the threshold and not so elegantly dropped her purse on the floor.

The woman behind the desk cleared her throat and Caroline felt her face flush with embarrassment as she leaned down to grab the bag in her fingers, clutching it to her stomach as she awkwardly met the other woman's gaze.

"Caroline Forbes?"

Caroline nodded jerkily and her blonde hair fell over her shoulders and into her face. "Yes, that's me."

The woman pursed her tight lips and raised an eyebrow. "Alaric will see you now."

"Oh – okay." Caroline took a deep breath and straightened her spine, silently repeating her positive mantra in her head. She came to a stop at the door and hesitated before grabbing the doorknob. "Do I just walk right in?"

The receptionist didn't respond; instead, she waved her hand absentmindedly as the phone began to ring and she answered with a polite greeting. Apparently, she was saving her lack luster attitude especially for Caroline.

Caroline forced another deep breath into her lungs and she wrapped her hand around the metal doorknob, thrusting the door open and taking her first timid steps into the room. Alaric Saltzman was sitting behind his lavish desk and was smiling to the other person in the room sitting opposite him.

Caroline watched as Alaric became aware of her presence and he smiled, slowly standing from his chair. "Miss Forbes! Please, come in and meet your costar!"

Caroline's eyes whipped to the other man and she watched in fascination as Klaus Mikaelson turned to meet her eyes. Caroline had to clamp down on her lips to make sure that her mouth didn't fall open in shock at the sight of him. She'd seen his movies but the movie screen didn't do him justice.

His eyes were the deepest shade of blue Caroline had ever seen and they were deep set and surrounded by light brown freckles. His full pink lips were pulled into a smirk as looked her up and down, taking in her appearance. Suddenly, Caroline felt a slightest bit self-conscious and she crossed her arms over her stomach, making his gaze snap to hers.

"Pleasure," Klaus said with a melodious British accent. "I'm sure."

Caroline felt the tension the moment she stepped farther in the room and she herself went rigid, surprised that Klaus didn't even stand to shake her hand. He just stayed seated in the chair in front of the desk and crossed his ankle of his knee, interlocking his fingers and twiddling his thumbs.

Alaric rolled his eyes as Klaus and came around the desk to greet Caroline properly, grasping her hand and pumping it in a comfortable greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Forbes. Please, sit down! We have quite a bit to discuss!"

Caroline smiled into Alaric's kind eyes and followed his lead, taking the chair beside Klaus. "Thank you, Alaric; it's an absolute pleasure to be here!"

"Oh, please, call me Ric!" He smiled brightly at her and turned his gaze to Klaus. "Klaus, don't you have anything to say to Miss Forbes?"

Klaus' azure eyes once more fixed on Caroline and she squirmed underneath his attention, chastising herself when she saw he smirked at her discomfort. "Not much to say, I'm afraid. I'm sure she's heard all about me."

Caroline's mouth did fall open then and she scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"Okay," Ric said breathily, clapping his hands on the desk. "I can see you're going to be the best of friends. Now, let's discuss the movie!"

Caroline was bristling mad and she locked her lips in a tight straight line, turning her entire body to face away from Klaus. He watched in amusement as she tensed and trained her stare at Ric who was pulling open his desk drawer and taking out two thick manila envelopes.

"Caroline, this is all of the information you will be needing about your character and Klaus – ," Ric said hanging them both their envelopes. " – all of your information is in your envelope as well. There is also a detailed set of directions about how to get to the studio and information about your trailer. I hope you two can become better acquainted with each other before we start shooting but it's not necessary. Now…are there any questions?"

Caroline felt the breath whoosh from her lungs as she grasped the thick parchment in her hands. She stared down at it and felt excited tears fill her eyes to which she quickly blinked them away. This was something she'd wanted for as long as she could remember. Growing up in Eureka, California had given her high hopes of becoming an actress on the big screen since she was a young girl.

"Yes, I have a question," Klaus said, leaning forward on his crossed legs. "Has Miss Forbes been properly informed about my preferences?"

Caroline snapped out of her reverie to glare at her costar. She quickly set to work on mimicking his position and she batted her eyelashes, pursing her lips. "No, he hasn't informed me of your _preferences_."

Klaus' eyes merely skipped to hers for a heartbeat before he stood gracefully from the chair. He straightened his clothes and stepped around the desk to gaze out of the wall of windows that stood behind Ric's desk. He stared down at the cars and finally turned around to stare at Caroline as his lips quirked slightly in a crooked smirk.

"Don't mistake me for someone you can address so self-righteously, Miss Forbes. While you are a newbie actress with no real background to display your talent,_ I_ am _Klaus Mikaelson_. This is _my_ movie and I'd like if you remembered that."

Caroline felt the color drain from her face as Klaus gracefully made the small trip back to his seat and picked up the envelope from the cushion. He grasped his iPhone in one hand as he reached across the desk to shake hands with Ric, pumping his hand twice. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Saltzman; I will be on the set bright and early tomorrow morning. Miss Forbes?" he questioned, turning back around to face her. Caroline was still staring at him with a pale face and a small smile lit his face; a smile, not a smirk. "I shall see you tomorrow, as well, sweetheart."

Klaus dropped Ric's hand and rounded the chairs to walk to the door where he pulled it open smoothly and shut it with a soft click. Caroline swallowed hard and gaped at Ric who quickly noticed she was shaking.

"Don't listen to him, Caroline," Ric murmured, shaking his head. "There's a reason you were given this role and it's because you earned it. You're talented, Caroline; don't forget that. Also, don't let it go to your head like that jackass."

Ric stood and walked back around the side of the desk to grasp Caroline's shaking hands in his. "Klaus' bark is much worse than his bite."

Caroline's laugh was watery and she cleared her throat of the unwanted tears. "If that was just his bark than I think I might need to buy him a muzzle."

Ric laughed with her and put his arm over her shoulder, leading her to the door. "Don't worry, Caroline. You wouldn't have been cast if you weren't a good actress. Besides! You could teach Klaus a thing or two about being a decent human being!"

She snorted quietly and walked out of the door to where Ric led her to the elevators. Klaus was long gone and Caroline was incredibly grateful to not have to share the elevator ride down with him.

"Thank you, Ric," Caroline side genuinely, smiling into Ric's kind brown eyes. "I'm unbelievably excited to work with you on this movie."

"Oh, don't thank me, Miss Forbes! You're going to want to kill me in a few weeks, I guarantee it!"

Caroline walked back onto the empty elevator and smiled sheepishly at Ric as he stood on the other side. "Depending on how it goes with my costar, I'm probably going to want to kill him."

The elevator doors slid shut and Caroline let out a final, weak breath. Meeting Klaus hadn't gone at all like she had expected but she was relieved to know that Ric wasn't a tyrant and seemed to be a nice person.

Caroline could feel it in her bones that this movie was going to do great things for her. She wasn't going to let some spoiled, British playboy ruin her chances of having an amazing experience. She would make herself forget his atrocious behavior; and she would definitely make herself forget the small tingle in her spine when he called her sweetheart.

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	2. Chapter 2

Caroline stepped out of her car and shut the door as she clicked the lock and listened to the loud beep that signaled the securing of the car. She shouldered her purse and quickly skipped up the winding path to the front door of her meager duplex apartment.

She'd only been living in the duplex for a matter of days when her best friend Bonnie had shown up on her doorstep, asking if she could be her roommate. Caroline had been best friends with Bonnie since the first day of kindergarten when the smaller girl had spilled her apple juice down the front of her shirt. Caroline had watched as Bonnie's tiny face crumpled and tears began to spill down her cheeks, as a mortified blush covered her skin.

"_Here_," 5 year old Caroline had said as the class began to laugh. "_You can have my jacket_!"

The two girls had been inseparable ever since that moment and she was more than excited that Bonnie had traveled all the way from their hometown of Eureka to live with her in San Francisco. Apparently, her father, the Deputy of the small community in Eureka had purchased a train ticket for Bonnie to get to San Francisco and surprise Caroline.

Her father had been apprehensive to have her live on her own and he thought that Bonnie would be the perfect roommate.

Caroline unlocked the front door of the apartment and walked inside, kicking off her heels and dropping her purse to the ground just inside the door. She walked through the small living room and into the kitchen where Bonnie sat at the small bar.

"Hey, Bon," Caroline greeted with a smile. "Any luck on finding a job?"

Bonnie rolled her dark green eyes to Caroline and sighed, annoyed. "The only luck on my side today seems to be bad luck.

"Ah," Caroline laughed humorlessly. "Seems like we're both having a bit of a dicey morning. Want to talk about it?"

Bonnie groaned and placed the disappointing newspaper on the bar in front of her. She watched Caroline open the refrigerator and pull out a small bottle of orange juice, pulling off the cap and drinking a full gulp.

"I'm particularly more interested in how your meeting with Mr. Saltzman went. Did you get to meet Klaus?"

Caroline met Bonnie's excited eyes and she grumbled. "Mr. Saltzman, as well as the meeting, were both fine. He gave me the information about the movie and directions to the set. I have to be there bright and early tomorrow to begin shooting and I'm _so_ excited. Klaus, on the other hand, left something to be desired."

"Uh oh," Bonnie chuckled. "Trouble in pre-movie paradise?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "You could say that. Let's put it this way: Klaus is well aware that he's famous and he isn't afraid to inform me that I'm _not_."

Bonnie grimaced. "So basically he's full of himself?"

"That's putting it lightly." Caroline quickly jogged back through the living room and to the door to grab the envelope from her purse. She strolled back into the kitchen and took the seat beside Bonnie at the bar, dumping the envelope's contents on the bar. "This is a direct Klaus Mikaelson quote: 'You are a newbie actress with no real background to display your talent,_ I_ am _Klaus Mikaelson_. This is _my_ movie and I'd like if you remembered that.'"

Bonnie's mouth fell open as Caroline began to piece through the papers on the bar. She separated things that pertained to the movie from the papers about the set and how to get there. She stacked the piles neatly and sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think I'm prepared for this."

"Oh hush," Bonnie scolded, gently slapping her hand. "You were born to be an actress, Care. I've known you since we were in kindergarten and you've only ever wanted to be famous. You can't let _Klaus Mikaelson_ and his overly inflated ego make you forget that. Besides, you got the role in this movie after _one_ audition! Mr. Saltzman obviously sees something in you!"

Caroline pursed her lips and nodded. "Ric. He wants me to call him Ric."

"See!" Bonnie smiled, excited. "He _likes_ you! _Everyone_ likes you! Klaus is just stuck in his 15 minutes of fame!"

"Bonnie, Klaus has been in the spotlight for more than 15 minutes."

"I know," Bonnie said as she rolled her eyes. "It's an expression, Caroline. Lighten up!"

There was a light knock on the front door and then it swung open, a set of clicking following the quiet shriek of the door. Elena Gilbert sauntered around the corner in an expensive charcoal skirt and matching suit jacket, the click of her heels against the linoleum floor announcing her presence before the girls could even identify her.

"Girls!" she greeted with a smile. She took in Caroline's forlorn face and she paused, sighing. "What happened?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes to Elena and pursed her lips. "_Klaus Mikaelson_ happened."

"_Ooh_." Elena's eyes widened and she placed her briefcase on the bar top. "I was hoping, _just hoping_, that his reputation was better than I've heard. I'm going to take your sickened expression as a sign that it's worse."

"Much worse," Caroline groaned, dropping her forehead to the bar. "He's so _full_ of himself, Elena! He's just so _rude_! I can match him step for step with the sarcasm but he's right! – he's got all of his fame behind him and I'm just a _newbie actress_."

Elena looked outraged. "He called you that!?"

Caroline nodded, downtrodden, and shrugged. "He's right! I've never done anything other than small commercials back in Eureka and he's been in movies. Emphasis on the plural!"

"Caroline," Elena sighed, slipping her sunglasses off of her head. "Your past _doesn't_ matter. All that matters is that you've been given a big shot with this movie. As your manager, I'm going to need you to buck up! You're going to do fabulously and you're gonna knock that British bastard on his ass!"

Caroline stared at Elena in shock and she blinked slowly. Elena wasn't usually the one who show such devotion to her clients and Caroline was truly touched that she would say those things to her.

"Thanks, Elena," she smiled and ran her hands through her long blonde curls. "That means a lot."

Elena nodded curtly and pulled a barstool to the other side of the counter, sliding onto it. "Now, what did Alaric give you in today's meeting?"

Caroline slid the stack of papers to Elena and watched as her deft, tan fingers flitted through them. She clucked her tongue and hummed approval as Caroline and Bonnie shared an amused, secret glance.

"Are you prepared?" Elena asked casually, glancing up through her short chocolate bangs. The rest of her shoulder length russet hair glided over her shoulders and swayed around her cheeks.

"Not overly prepared but not unprepared." Caroline shrugged nonchalant. "I don't want to psych myself out."

"Yes, good," Elena said with a nod. "Best to keep it that way. Now, I've spoken to Alaric and he said that your trailer is the first on the lot. Makeup and wardrobe are not needed tomorrow because it will just be a table read. There were only a few small changes made to the script you received on audition day and there will be a new version in your trailer for you to use. You need to get to set at 8. A.M. Alaric wanted the read to be on set because he wanted you and Klaus to get a feel for the set."

Caroline swallowed hard and smiled. "I'm going to have to get used to the early rising."

"The early bird gets the worm, Caroline," Elena grinned. "Are you the early bird who's going to get it?"

Caroline's eyes shone with determination and she raised her eyebrows, wiggling them. "Oh yes, the earliest of the birds."

Bonnie snorted and Caroline glared at her as she spun off of the stool and traipsed through the kitchen to the opening of the short hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathroom. She turned to smile at Caroline and shook her brown hair, chuckling. "I'll make sure to remind you of that when I have to turn your alarm off and get your ass out of bed myself."

"Agh!" Caroline scoffed. "Not even true! I do just fine getting out of bed in the morning!"

Bonnie quirked an eyebrow and cocked her hip as she crossed her arms. "Then I can turn my alarm off?"

Caroline blanched. "Well, I didn't say _that_."

Both Bonnie and Elena chuckled at Caroline and Bonnie turned from the doorway to stroll down the hallway and into her bedroom, shutting the door quietly. Caroline blew a puff of air from her lungs and watched Elena push the papers back to her. She laid her palms on the two stacks and Elena placed hers on top of Caroline's, gently patting.

"It's all going to be an amazing experience, Caroline," Elena said with promise. "Klaus Mikaelson is many things but you should not let him get under your skin. You are talented, my dear. This movie is a great opportunity and, as your agent, I'm proud to have you as my client."

Caroline smiled and slipped off of her stool to stand beside the bar. "Thanks, Elena, I really appreciate it. Are you staying for lunch?"

"No, I'm afraid I have to meet Mr. Mikaelson to discuss press releases for you and Klaus."

Caroline cocked her head. "Wait – okay. I'm confused…"

Elena shared the same look of confusion and then her face lit into her beautiful trademark grin. "Mr. Mikaelson, also known as Elijah Mikaelson, is Klaus' older brother and also his agent."

"Ooh." Caroline's mouth formed an 'o' shape and she nodded dramatically. "Let me guess! He's so full of himself that he can't possibly let anyone not of his own noble blood anywhere near his fame!?"

Elena snorted and closed her briefcase, traveling the short distance to the door to the living room. "Don't let Klaus hear you say he has noble blood lest he lets it go to his head."

Caroline rolled her eyes and exhaled on a laugh. "Wouldn't be the first time something over exaggerated went to his head."

Elena's eyes widened for the second time since stepping into Caroline's apartment and she shook her head, surprised. "You know, Caroline," she began as turned around to walk through the living room. She pulled the front door open and leaned back to look at Caroline, swinging her brown hair over her shoulder and out of her face. "Some of the best love stories begin with hate."

The door slammed shut on Elena's smiling face and Caroline felt the scowl as it grew on her face. "Not likely."

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	3. Chapter 3

"Caroline," Bonnie said quietly beside Caroline's ear, "Caroline, time to wake up."

Caroline's eyes slowly peeled open and she stared through clouded eyes at Bonnie who was standing directly in her face. "What?" she grumbled, burying her head in her pillow, "What time is it?"

"It's 7 in the morning and it's time for you to get out of bed and get ready to go to set."

Caroline's heart kicked into overdrive and she sat up in a jolt of energy, a grin splitting her face, "Today! It's here! It's finally here!"

Bonnie smiled at her friend and nodded, smoothing the blonde hair away from Caroline's face. "Yes, Care, it's finally here – and you desperately need to shower if you want to make a good impression."

Caroline's face fell and she hopped out of bed, feeling her flannel pajama pants slides down her calves and fold underneath her feet as she bolted to look at herself in the mirror. Her blonde waves were tangled into a rats nest on top of her head and her makeup was smeared all over her face.

"Oh, god," she groaned, attempting to rub it off. "I look like a clown that drowned and came back to life."

Bonnie snorted and left the room only to call to Caroline from the kitchen. "At least you came back to life!"

Caroline grabbed a towel from her closet and ran down the short hallway to tiny bathroom at the end, directly beside Bonnie's bedroom. She took a quick shower, scrubbing the makeup off of her face and washing her hair until it hung in a long blonde curtain down her back. She got out and quickly dried off to throw on a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt, throwing on a black blazer on top. She pushed her feet into a pair of short heeled boots and left her room to walk to the kitchen where Bonnie had poured steaming coffee into two large white mugs.

Bonnie was still in her pajamas and appeared to be half asleep as Caroline began to chat animatedly about the things she learned from the packet of information Ric had given her.

"So, I know I've told you all about the movie but apparently this guy named Damon Salvatore is playing my dad's family friend! I googled a picture of him and oh my god, Bon, he's gorgeous!"

"More gorgeous than Klaus?" Bonnie grinned into her coffee, raising an eyebrow.

Caroline groaned and hung her head, damp blonde waves flying into her eyes. "I wish his attitude detracted from his looks but it doesn't. He's still gorgeous and he's still an asshole."

Bonnie nodded. "Sounds just like the majority of the male population at our high school."

Caroline rolled her eyes and drank a sip of coffee, relishing in the burn as it traveled down her throat and settled in her belly. "Exactly!"

"So, what else did you learn from that pretty packet of doom you brought home yesterday?"

"Nice, Bon," Caroline snorted. She set the coffee cup down and grabbed the envelope from the edge of the counter to reach inside and bring out the papers. "Today is just a table read, as we heard from Elena yesterday. I'll be on the set of the main power building Woodstock Corps. We're shooting in sequentially so we're actually going in order of the film and not doing random scenes. Uhh – what else?" Caroline scanned the page quickly, "That's basically it, I guess."

"And you're excited?" Bonnie questioned quietly.

Caroline sighed and smiled at the papers as she stuffed them back into the envelope. "Painfully."

"Good." Bonnie gulped some of her coffee. "That's better than nothing."

"Yeah," Caroline agreed as she checked the clock on the microwave. "Crap, I've got to get going or I'll be late. I'll be home when it's all done and then we can go get dinner to celebrate!"

"Sure! I'll be here, searching the job advertisements in the newspaper. Hey! Did you ever call your dad to see if he maybe knew of a place around here that needed employees?"

Caroline nodded as she finished her coffee and put the cup in the sink. "Yep, he said he'd check around and get back to me. He'll let me know if there are any places but he wants you to do it on your own."

"Oh, Bill," Bonnie said affectionately. "The dad I never have."

"He knows."

Caroline walked around the island and patted Bonnie's arm lovingly. "You're a part of this family whether you like it or not, Bennett."

"And I'm glad!" Bonnie called after Caroline as she ducked into the hallway and to the elevator.

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Caroline parked her car in the lot behind the set and hopped out as her eyes searched for her trailer. She caught sight of a small trailer with the initials C.F. taped to the door and she squealed, breaking into a run and excitedly pulling open the door.

The trailer looked just as Caroline had always imagined her movie trailer would look like and she felt her heart swell with happiness in her chest. There was a makeup counter that sat in front of a large mirror surrounded by bright light bulbs. There was also a spacious closet at the end of the trailer that held a plush robe for her to wear between costumes.

A knock sounded on the door and it was pulled open to reveal Ric with a large grin on his face. "Looks like you found the set okay! Did you get lost?"

Caroline shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "Only a little. I took one wrong turn and then realized what I did so I turned back around and - ," Caroline stopped. "You don't want to hear this."

Ric chuckled and shook his head. "I did the same thing, too. Let me guess, turning on Cherry wood Lane and not Cherry wood Boulevard?"

"Exactly," Caroline whispered as a smile lit up her face. "It's just very confusing seeing as how they're two streets away from each other."

"I agree! Are you ready to see the set and begin the table read?"

Caroline looked around the set and cleared her throat. "Is my final script on set or…?"

"Oh!" Ric laughed and brushed past her to open the drawer underneath the makeup counter. "I put it in here so that the cleaners wouldn't get it wet. Here you go!" he said, handing it to her. "Don't worry about reading it just yet; you'll have time to do so as we set things up for the read. There were only a few minor changes, anyways. Some grammatical and syntax errors, no biggie."

"Okay!" she said brightly.

Ric left the trailer and Caroline fell in step beside him, shutting the door behind her. She followed Ric as he led her through a winding path of trailers that were all designated by different initials. Just beside hers was a trailer with the initials K.M on the door and she felt her blood run cold; Klaus was right next door to her.

"Is Klaus here already?" Caroline whispered.

"No yet," Ric informed her as he glanced to her from the corner of his eye. "You'll be sitting next to me and the actor who's playing your father while Klaus is sitting across from you. I've told him to tamp down the insults and to remember that he can always be replaced if he causes too many problems."

Caroline stared at Ric in shock as her mouth fell open. "Why would you do that? He's one of the best actors and he's so popular right now!"

Ric shrugged and threw his arm over her shoulder. "Someone would scoop him up the minute he left and I would find someone more appreciative. Plus, I would rather the lead male not try to upset the lead female."

Caroline chuckled. "It would definitely be nice but I have to learn to deal with it."

Ric pat her shoulder and steered her towards a large metal door that opened up into a vast, beautiful set. "Welcome to Woodstock Corps!" Ric told her excitedly.

Caroline wasn't capable of taking in the entire set with one glance, she realized. There were two large staircases which led to a veranda that overlooked the atrium. The atrium was full of tables and booths for the extras to sit in and do their acting, briefcases and papers strewn about the tables for the extras to use as props.

"This way," Ric said as he led her through room.

There was a large rectangular table that was sitting in the middle of the atrium and Ric set his things down at the head of the table and hung his jacket around the chair. Caroline sat down in the chair beside Ric's and laid out her script in front of her but continued to watch the bustle around her. The crew filed past her chair and started to place water bottles and bowls of fruit on the table for the cast to eat while they read their scripts.

Anxiety thrummed in Caroline's veins as she pulled her finalized script towards her and she peeled open the first page, gazing down at the large letters in the middle of the page.

**Ghostly Echoes**

Her heart kicked into gear as her eyes devoured the script, beginning from page one. She made it to page 15 before a heavy bag fell onto the table in front of her and the chair scraped back against the floor. Her eyes shot up to see Klaus smirking down at her and she paled at the sight of his cold eyes.

"Klaus," she whispered in greeting, "Nice to see you again."

"Yes, I imagine it would be, sweetheart," he grinned, raising an eyebrow.

Caroline's mouth fell open and she was just about to reply with a witty comeback when Ric appeared at her side and dropped a hand to her shoulder. "Klaus," he ground out, "Behave."

Klaus rolled his eyes and forced a smile in Caroline's direction, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Forbes."

_Ahh_, Caroline thought. _How formal_.

Caroline watched as the rest of the cast filtered through the madness and took their seats at the table. She was informed that her father was being played by William Tanner, a nice man who hugged her as if he'd known her for years.

"It's great to meet you!" William said excitedly. "I've heard a lot about you! Congrats on getting the part!"

"Thanks," Caroline replied, smiling. "It's a really great opportunity; I'm very excited to work with you."

Klaus snorted from across the table and Caroline's gaze whipped to his angrily. "Something to add, Mikaelson?"

"Oh no." He shook his head. "Not a thing."

"Okay!"

Everyone turned to look at Ric who was standing at the head of the table with his hands held in the air. "Welcome everyone to Woodstock Corps! Today, as you know, we'll just be doing a table read going through the first scene of the movie! In the envelope you all received, I informed you all that we will be shooting the scenes chronologically; so, that being said, please turn to page one and we will begin!"

All of the scripts were opened to page one and William cleared his throat to begin. "I see the sky graced you with a free shower." He chuckled. "There's a towel on the kitchen table for you."

Caroline cleared her throat and began. "Thanks. That's the last time I decide to walk to and from school. I don't know why I ever think the weather is going to stay the same for more than an hour."

Klaus snorted loudly and Caroline turned her shocked gaze to him. "What?"

Ric glared in Klaus' direction and raised an expectant eyebrow, "Yes, Klaus. What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said with a shrug. "Just thought she sounded a bit…_young_."

"_Really_?" Caroline was suddenly very angry, "I'm an 18 year old playing an _18 year old_ and I sounded a _bit young_?"

Klaus' eyebrows flew to his hairline and he leaned across the table to glare at her, "Yes."

"Okay, Klaus," Ric began, holding his hand in front of Klaus, "Caroline," he did the same to her. "Just – take a breather. Caroline, you did fine. Klaus, if there is a problem with Caroline's acting, I'll tell her. Now, let's continue."

Caroline leaned back in her chair and continued to glare at Klaus who mirrored her. He crossed his arms over his chest and licked his lips, raising an eyebrow and watching the words on the script as if they were going to jump off of the page and bite him.

"Sorry," she mumbled, plastering a smile on her lips, "Let's keep going."

The read went well until Klaus' part came into the equation. Caroline tensed and waited for William to deliver his few lines before Klaus and Caroline would have to interact, "Hey Nick, she's upstairs. I'm sure she wouldn't care if you ran up."

Ric read the lines of the narrator, depicting what it would look like as "Nick" ran up the stairs of the bedroom and walked into Remy's room. "Remy," Klaus whispered with an American accent, "Remy, wake up."

"Remy continues to feign sleep as Nick sits beside her on the bed. Finally, Remy opens her eyes."

Caroline sighed deeply and made her voice sleepy, gazing into Klaus' eyes from across the table. "Hey," she murmured sleepily, "When did you get here?"

Klaus stared into Caroline's eyes and she watched in muted surprise as an emotion she couldn't quite identify passed over his expression. He was watching her intently, waiting for a mistake, Caroline was sure, when suddenly his gaze stopped being cold. His eyes warmed for the slightest of seconds and his lips parted to show the tips of his white teeth and Caroline felt her heart begin to thunder in her chest.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the look was gone and cold, mean Klaus was back. He smirked at her stunned expression and she swallowed thickly as her eyes fell back to the script.

* * *

Caroline had just left the set when Klaus barreled out of the door and stalked to his trailer. She watched in annoyance as he hopped up the step to the door and pulled it open only to slam it shut behind him, shaking the entire frame of the trailer.

"You did great, Caroline!" William said in passing, "Honestly!"

"Thank you," she murmured with a flush, "It was exciting."

"Caroline!" Ric called to her as he exited the set, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She stopped and turned to face him as he quickly jogged to her spot and smiled down at her, "Great job today, Care. Tomorrow we'll be finishing the table read and then we're going to start filming. Are you ready? Do you need an extra day to get accustomed to the script?"

"No, I'm ready," she said with a smile, "Or, as ready as I'll ever be, at least."

Suddenly, a loud bang reverberated throughout the lot and Klaus' trailer door flew open and an older man walked out, his face an angry red. "You're being ridiculous, Klaus!"

"I'm actually being very serious, Elijah. Kol cannot come and stay with me!"

"Klaus, I'm asking not as your agent but as your brother. Please, he has nowhere else to go! Mother and father have kicked him out because of his failing out of Stanford and he needs a place to live. It will not be permanently and I can't let him stay with me because of the renovations."

"Uh oh," Ric whispered, pulling Caroline out of their line of sight. "Trouble in paradise."

"Who is that?" Caroline asked as she watched Klaus argue with the man. "He looks familiar."

"He's not well known. He is Klaus manager and older brother, Elijah Mikaelson – and they're talking about Kol, the younger brother."

"Oh," Caroline said with rounded lips. "That's why he looks familiar."

Ric looked at her, confused.

"They have the same nose." She explained while she continued to stare at Klaus and Elijah as they argued heatedly in the middle of the parking lot.

"He's a mooch, Elijah! He'll eat my food, drink my beer, and bring random girls back and leave a mess!"

"Oh, Nik, you're being absolutely preposterous! You already do those things and you honestly expect for him to have learned any differently!"

"Well, you were the other option for him to take after," Klaus grumbled, crossing his arms. "Looks like that ship has sailed."

"Kol has failed to find his path at this time, Nik. He just needs a place to live while he looks for a job. You do not need to take care of him because he's an adult now. Just do this for me."

Elijah looked exhausted as he fought with Klaus and Caroline watched another never before seen emotion pass over Klaus eyes.

Sadness.

"Fine," he whispered, shaking his head. "I'll take him in."

With those words, Klaus walked across the parking lot to his car where he hopped in behind the steering wheel and peeled out of the space, leaving the lot with the squealing of his tires against the pavement.

Elijah hung his head tiredly and shut the door of Klaus' trailer before walking the short distance to his own vehicle, leaving the spot much more serenely than his younger brother.

Caroline sighed in shock and turned back to Ric who was shaking his head. "What?"

Ric swallowed hard. "My nephews are such pig headed men and it makes me wonder where they got it."

"_What_?" Caroline repeated, dumbfounded. "Your – your _nephews_?"

"Yep." He emphasized the word by popping the p, "Sadly."

He turned and left her then to walk back into the set and shut the door behind him. Caroline turned to stare in the direction that Klaus left and she exhaled loudly with the shake of her head. Working on this movie was like stepping into one large family argument - painful and exhausting.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the really late update, guys. School got started and I've been so busy, not to mention struck with an awful case of writers block. Hope you like the chapter :)**

* * *

Klaus could feel his brother's presence even before he walked in the door of his apartment, the youngest Mikaelson's existence rolling off of him in waves and suffocating Klaus through the door. Grinding him jaws together painfully, he jerked the key in the lock and swung the door open to hear the loud, booming music that Kol was blasting.

Opposed to Klaus' tendency to be neat and organized, Kol was the complete opposite. Clothing was strewn about the main entrance of the penthouse and Klaus followed a pair of boots, a backpack, a jacket, and Kol's nearly emptied wallet through the hallway and into the kitchen where Kol sat on the counter. He had one of Klaus' prized beers in his hand and was chugging the liquid when Klaus loudly cleared his throat, startling him.

"Whoa!" Kol yelped, sliding off of the counter and hitting the floor. He landed hard on the wood floor and stared up at Klaus with glazed eyes. "Klaus! Brother, it's so good to see you!"

Klaus clenched his jaw. "Get up."

Kol fake trembled in fear and drunkenly rose from the ground to lean heavily against the counter. "What's crawled up your arse?"

"You're honestly asking me that?" Klaus rolled his eyes to Kol as he dropped his folder of materials on the countertop to walk around to the refrigerator. "You've gotten yourself expelled from Stanford, Kol. Mother and Father can't stand to have you in the house and they don't know what to do to make sure you don't end up dead in a gutter somewhere. You're constantly getting yourself into troubles with the law and that frightens them, not to mention _me!" _

Klaus paused to open the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of water. He drained half of the contents and set the bottle on the counter to swipe the back of his hand over his lip, ridding his skin of the drops of water. "You have a famous last name, Kol. Mikaelson is well known in this state as well as this country. I am a famous actor and our parents are well known with this community. You don't seem to understand the severity of your actions."

"Oh no," Kol muttered with a shake of his head. "I understand perfectly. I understand that all you're worried about is losing your famed title of actor of the decade. I also understand that Mother and Father couldn't care less about my _well-being_ and they're more concerned with having the family name smeared across the tabloids. Well, screw that and screw _you_. I have no intention of cleaning up my act due to the fact that I don't mind having a soiled reputation."

Kol shouldered past Klaus quickly and let his upper body slam into Klaus', knocking him back a step. Klaus watched in silent shock as Kol stomped through the hallway down to the guest bedroom that he was staying in for the duration, pulling the door shut hard enough for Klaus to feel it tremor underneath his feet.

Klaus just couldn't understand what was going through his younger brother's head. Kol head kept things together for so long until he started at Stanford and everything went downhill from there. For whatever reason, he was letting all of his past ghosts and all of the wounds from his childhood to color his future and Klaus' heart broke for him.

Sighing deeply, Klaus sat down in the newly vacated barstool and pulled his packet of paper to him, gently running his hand over the Manila paper that encased his Ghostly Echoes information.

Klaus felt a jolt in his heart as he thought back to the table read from the morning and the way that Caroline's Forbes' eyes had blazed at him across the table. She had been rigid and tense the entire time they ran through the first couple of scenes of the movie and Klaus had enjoyed every moment of it. Seeing her squirm and knowing he was the cause made him take a fresh breath of air. Her annoyance with him sped through his veins like caffeine and he relished it.

Klaus knew that Caroline was special; that she was something he had never encountered before. He also knew that keeping her away from him with biting wit and caustic remarks would be the safest way to make the movie work without letting her get to his head.

Caroline had a power over him that no one had ever had before and Klaus was more frightened about that than he cared to admit.

* * *

The front door to her small home slammed shut and Bonnie's head whipped up to see Caroline charge through the living room and into the kitchen. Bonnie's lips fell open, poised to speak, when Caroline ripped open the refrigerator to yank a beer off of the top shelf, slamming it on the counter. She banged the bottle against the edge of the countertop and the cap flew across the room to slide on the floor.

Taking a large, thirst quenching pull from the bottle, Caroline leaned her hip into the counter and shut her eyes against the growing headache she felt in her temples.

"Rough day?" Bonnie murmured carefully, scratching the back of her neck. "Are you okay?"

Caroline nodded but sighed deeply as tears welled in her eyes and she fell into the seat beside Bonnie. "Incredibly rough day but yeah, I'll be okay. I just – I'm so stressed out because I'm pretty sure that Klaus hates me and, as you know, I'm not used to that. Am I hate-able, Bon?"

Bonnie shook her head vehemently. "I don't think so, Care. You're the kindest person I know! Klaus just has his head stuck too far up his ass to realize that he's hurting you."

"He's not hurting me!" Caroline was outraged with the need to defend herself. "He's just…he's offending me. I'm _offended_!"

Bonnie nodded but inwardly arched her eyebrow. "Okay, I see. Well, he obviously doesn't know he's _offending_ you. He'll notice eventually but not anytime soon unless you _say something_."

Caroline shrugged. "I don't have the time to sit Klaus down and have a talk with him. He wouldn't listen anyway."

"Well," Bonnie sighed, slipping off of her chair. "Then you'll have to beat him at his own game. Sometimes, winning and getting even are better when you do them both at the same time. Does he find you attractive?"

Caroline turned shocked eyes to Bonnie and watched her toss away her granola wrapper. "Highly doubtful, Bon."

"But you _don't know_?"

Caroline shook her head.

"Then we'll test it." Bonnie shrugged. "Wear something sleezy tomorrow."

Caroline didn't speak; instead, she chose to stare incredulously at Bonnie with her mouth hanging open. "_Sleezy_?"

Bonnie nodded. "Something a little sexier. Professionally, of course, but still sexy. Show your cleavage, your mile-long legs, make your hair a little curlier, then _bam_! He's all yours."

"Right," Caroline snorted. "Doubtful."

"You love that word. Just listen to me, Caroline, and it'll work. I know that he'll grovel at your feet and you'll have all of the power in the relationship. Just follow my advice, Carebear, and it'll work."

Caroline shrugged and set to finishing the rest of her beer, thinking about the possible outfits she would wear the next morning for the rest of the table read.

Klaus wouldn't know what hit him if Caroline had her way.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Caroline woke up 2 hours before her normal rising hour and glared down at the clothing she had strewn all over her bed. Bonnie's advice rang in her ears to the point that she was almost positive she was going mad. Dress sleazy? Her? Her professionalism was her proudest quality! Could she degrade herself to win Klaus' attention?

"Why are you in a war with your clothes?" Bonnie grumbled as she stumbled groggily into Caroline's bedroom.

"Because, Bon, you've planted an absurd idea in my mind and now it's all I can think about." Caroline rounded the bed to examine her choices further, picking through skirts and stockings. "I need to maintain a certain level of professionalism while still blowing Klaus out of the water."

Bonnie blinked slowly and simply glared down at the clothing covered bed. Reaching into the pile with no sense of direction or purpose, she yanked out a couple of pieces to create Caroline's "sleazy" outfit for the day.

"Here," Bonnie moaned darkly, throwing the clothes at Caroline and carefully maneuvering her feet around the other piles on the floor. "I'm making coffee."

Caroline watched with her mouth hanging open as Bonnie shuffled from the room. For a fleeting moment, she was afraid that all of her complaining and neurosis had finally gotten to Bonnie. Maybe she'd finally made Bonnie crack.

"Hurry your ass up, Barbie! You've got a douchebag to impress!"

Or maybe Bonnie just needed some coffee.

Caroline grabbed the clothes Bonnie picked out and spread them out on the bed, grinning widely. Bonnie did exceptionally well.

* * *

Klaus sat in his chair waiting for the rest of the cast to appear, growing irritated by the lack of attendance. He clutched his third cup of coffee in his fist and stared sleepily at Caroline's empty chair, grumbling under his breath in annoyance. For someone who wasn't even there, she was already getting on his nerves.

Kol had woken him up at four in the morning as he dashed from his bedroom and into the bathroom to vomit up every ounce of alcohol he'd consumed throughout the night. Klaus had glared at his younger brother's back as he dropped 2 aspirin and a glass of water on the countertop, storming from the penthouse to wait outside of Starbucks until it opened at 6.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his chair and began to relax before he heard the clicking of heels on the marbles floor. Slowly peeling his eyes open, Klaus silently lost his breath at the sight before him, a healthy hum of appreciation settling low in his body.

Caroline was standing beside her seat as she tossed her script onto the table. She wore a navy blue satin shirt that was flush against her skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her shoulders were covered with a ruffled black tuxedo jacket that ended just underneath her breasts, clipping together in the middle of her cleavage. Matching the jacket, she wore a black pencil skirt that ended mid-thigh, accompanied by knee high black leather boots.

She looked a sexy dominatrix and Klaus couldn't help but appreciate every slice of skin his eyes could find, locking onto the way her skin shone in the fluorescent light of the building.

With a grin and a toss of her soft blonde curls, Caroline sat in her chair and mirrored Klaus' position. "Good morning, Mr. Mikaelson," she murmured quietly, nodding.

Klaus cleared his throat and ripped his gaze away from her tantalizing ivory skin. "Miss Forbes," Klaus greeted. "You look…"

What could he say? He didn't want her to thinks he had the power to stun him, though she clearly did. He wanted her to know that she couldn't show up in a sexy outfit and he would bend to her whim. No, she needed to understand that he was in charge of this acquaintanceship.

Caroline grinned at Klaus again, silently high-fiving herself for the look on Klaus' face when he had seen her. Completely stupefied, she would say, and she'd enjoyed every moment of it.

"…cheap." Klaus shrugged.

Her heart stopped but she refused to show emotion. Swallowing thickly and blinking hard, Caroline shrugged back and smiled. "I doubt you could afford me, Mikaelson."

Klaus raised an eyebrow as Caroline's eyes fell and her cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink. He felt bad for the sole fact that she really did look incredible in the clothing she'd chosen to wear and he'd watched her self-esteem crumble right before his eyes.

Maybe if Kol hadn't pissed him off that morning. Maybe if her eyes weren't so blue and her smile wasn't so bright against the darkness that was his attitude. Maybe then he would have treated her better, but Klaus knew the truth and he was aware that nothing would have made him be kind to Caroline Forbes. He hadn't landed the role in Ghostly Echoes to be nice to his costar; he was there to win and to make a bigger and better name for himself.

"Caroline!" Alaric said warmly from behind her. His eyes traveled over her outfit and he whistled slowly as a smile lit his face. "You look great! Hot date tonight?"

Klaus stiffened in silently outrage as a mental picture of Caroline with another man flittered across his eyes. He clenched his jaw as Caroline grinned cheekily.

"All of my dates are hot," she replied, shrugging.

Ric laughed aloud and shook his head. "You're relentless, Forbes."

Caroline's eyes twitched to Klaus' and she raised an eyebrow at his dubious expression. "Problem?" she questioned, sarcastically.

Klaus shook his head and matched her raised eyebrow. "Your reputation and how to ruin it fails to be an issue of mine."

"Good, it shouldn't be," she hmphed.

"Though, if you plan on ruining it this soon, even before the movie begins to filmed, you might consider quitting now. You'll bring us all down with you."

Caroline's throat clogged with the threat of unshed tears and she bit the inside of her cheek to stave off the wave of emotion.

"I'll keep that in mind." Her voice was strangled in her throat.

This day wasn't going as Caroline had expected, that was for sure. She hadn't thought Klaus would speak to her the way that he had, yet she failed to be surprised even the slightest. Klaus wasn't a nice person and tearing Caroline down seemed to be the only thing on his mind. She had to realize that it had nothing to do with who she was as a person and everything to do with the fact that Klaus was only concerned with one thing, and that was Klaus.

* * *

The second day of table reading was over at just before 10 o'clock at night and Caroline had avoided interacting with Klaus unless to deliver a line. She had fled the set when Ric called a break for lunch, dashing to her car and driving to the nearest fast food restaurant to drown herself in French fries.

She shut her trailer door behind her and started the trek to her car. When she had returned from lunch, there was a large set piece in her parking spot, making her have to park in the alley directly beside the building and slightly hidden from the casual viewer.

Caroline turned the corner and just barely caught a glimpse of her car before a hand shot out of the dark and smacked her in the mouth. With a shriek of terror, Caroline fell as her heel caught in the cracks on the pavement, sending her sprawling to the ground and her things scattering around her in the darkness.

She heard harsh breathing and then she was kicked in the ribs, a loud, blood curdling crack resounding throughout the small alleyway. She screamed in agony and curled into herself, clutching at her broken ribcage. There was a growling chuckle that came from her left and she instinctively turned away with a soft sob.

"Please," she whimpered uselessly. "Please, stop."

"Why should I?" the unidentified voice snarled.

"Because I haven't done anything to you!" she hissed through her teeth as she began to crawl in the opposite direction of the voice.

"Yes," they began, stooping down to loom in her face. Their face was covered by a black ski mask that only showed their eyes which were dark green and vicious. "You did."

Caroline had a moment's horror as she watched the assailants hand pull back to deliver a crushing blow to her cheek bone. Her head snapped back against the pavement and she saw stars before kicks and punches were attacking her from every angle, as if her attacker had someone to help her.

The last thing Caroline remembered before blacking out from the pain was another chuckle and then spit flew to land next to her black and blue nose.

"Night, bitch."

* * *

Klaus could not believe that he had forgotten his phone in his trailer. The one thing was rarely out of his reach was sitting on the table just inside the door of his trailer, almost laughing at him. Grumbling incoherently under his breath, Klaus gripped the iPhone in his hand and slammed the trailer door behind him and stalked off to where his car was parked just on the inside of the lot. There was still a rather large piece of the scenery for the movie sitting in his designated parking spot but he had managed to squeeze his car into a small parking spot.

Klaus just began to pass the small alley when he heard what sounded like a moan and a deep gasp coming from just within the opening. He stopped and cocked his head in the direction of the noise to listen for more when he was suddenly aware of Caroline's car parked in the alley. It had been in the same spot when he left to go home after the table read and he was instantly worried, the foreign emotion surging into his body.

Pocketing his phone and stiffening his shoulders, Klaus entered the alley slowly and glanced around, looking for Caroline. He couldn't see much because of the poor lighting but his eyes locked onto the thick papers of Caroline's script sitting just underneath the front end of her car, one end soaked through with dark liquid. He took another concerned step forward, Klaus' boot landed on a small tube of chap stick that was just peeking out of the lid of Caroline's purse.

"No," he whispered, crouching down to the purse and bringing it to his chest.

She was still here somewhere.

Klaus' head popped up and it didn't take long for his eyes to land on the crumpled and bleeding body laying a few steps away. Caroline was curled into herself and clutching her sides as tears dribbled down her cheeks and tracked through lines of blood.

"Caroline," Klaus whispered, lunging for her. Her wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently hefted her into his arms until her head was tipped back against his bicep.

"Caroline, sweetheart, look at me. Tell me what happened."

Caroline's blue eyes peeked open as much as they could due to the swollen skin making it difficult for her to see him. One of her eyes was swollen shut and black and blue, her eyebrow split and dripping blood onto his sweater. She was mumbling incoherently under her breath and she shifted, a gasp of shocked pain flying from her lips.

"Oh god," she groaned, shaking her head. She buried her nose in the crook of Klaus' elbow and she began to sob, clutching at the fabric of his sweater. "My ribs, oh god, my ribs."

"Are they broken, love?" he whispered, smoothing the hair off of her forehead, the only part of her body that wasn't broken or bleeding.

She whimpered and blood gurgled from the side of her mouth. "Yes."

Klaus clenched his jaw and looked around the alley for some sort of way to help her, not seeing one. He was going to have to carry her to his car and drive her to the hospital.

"Caroline?" he said urgently, gently tapping her cheek to gain her attention. "Caroline, I need to get you to the hospital. Can I lift you?"

She nodded, closing her eyes. "Please, help me."

Klaus shut his eyes tight for a moment before lifting her effortlessly into his arms and cradling her to his chest. She cried out in pain as he gathered her things in his hands and took her to his car where he laid her in the backseat. Her head fell against the seat cushion and she fell unconscious the moment she was down, her arm flopping off the side of the seat to dangle over the floor of the car.

Klaus quickly jumped into the driver seat and tossed her things into the passenger seat, buckling so quickly he was momentarily worried that he hadn't. Switching his car into gear, Klaus tossed a look over his shoulder to see Caroline slumped in the seat and bleeding profusely, her face swollen and grotesque against the scant lighting in the parking lot.

He stomped his foot on the gas pedal and peeled out of the parking lot to speed the car down the street and to the closest hospital, praying and hoping that he would be able to get Caroline to the doctor in time.

Klaus had never felt terror like the kind that was coursing through his veins and shouting in his ear to make him drive faster. Caroline couldn't die.

She couldn't die.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Klaus couldn't really remember what happened after he'd arrived at the hospital. He could remember jumping from the car and extracting Caroline's unconscious body from the backseat to rush into the front door of the emergency room. He could remember the doctors surrounding him as he frantically begged for help and gripped Caroline tightly in his arms. The last thing he could clearly recall was the sight of Caroline's bloody body as they hurried her through the swinging doors into the back. A nurse told him to wait and call Caroline's family and that's where he was: sitting in the waiting room with his cellphone clutched painfully tight in his fingers as his heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears.

Klaus didn't know Caroline's family. He didn't know her cell phone number; he didn't know anything that would help her. With a shaky breath, Klaus unlocked his iPhone and dialed the one person who he thought could help.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered the voice.

"Ric," Klaus breathed painfully. "Ric, there's been an attack. I need your help. Come to St. Christian's Hospital as soon as possible."

He clicked the end button before Ric could ask any questions, knowing it was rude. He couldn't speak any more than he already had and that was already difficult to do. He shut his eyes and felt the shaking in his bones as he waited for Ric to show up.

* * *

Caroline was floating. She was staring up at the most beautiful pearly lights that were gently falling from the sky above her, wrapping around her arms and legs to make her warm. There was a soft humming that seemed to surround her and she could practically feel the heaviness in the air as the hum wove through her hair and open fingers.

"Miss Forbes!"

Her peace was jarred by a harsh voice that burst into her mind.

"Open your eyes, Miss Forbes!"

"I don't want to," she murmured, shutting her eyes tighter against the growing light and turning her head away. "I want to sleep."

"Wake up!"

With a shuddering gasp of air, Caroline surged forward and began to thrash on the table as a team of doctors transferred her from the travel gurney to the stable emergency room table. Her terrified and swollen blue eyes sucked in her surroundings as her arms flailed painfully in panic, attempting to fight.

"No!" she screamed hoarsely through broken lips. "No, stop!"

"Sedative," the doctor mumbled to a nurse in passing. "You're all right, Miss Forbes! Caroline, you're okay!"

"No!" she continued to scream.

She felt her ribs screaming in protest as the sedative slowly began to creep its way through her blood stream. The room began to spin above her head and the familiar glow of white lights permeated her vision as she fell back into an uncomfortable, fitful sleep.

* * *

"Caroline Forbes?" a male nurse said as he rounded the corner of the waiting room.

Klaus' head popped up just as Ric burst in the doors of the room with fear in his eyes. "What's happened?"

"Yes, she's with me," Klaus answered the nurse, ignoring Ric for the moment. He didn't have the mental capacity to deal with telling Ric what happened, seeing as he barely knew in the first place.

"There's both good and bad news," the nurse, Matt, began. "I'll start with the bad, if that's all right. She's been beaten badly and there seems to be some internal bleeding. She's being taken to the OR for surgery to stop the bleeding and to make sure there are no other issues internally and with her organs. There are 10 broken ribs out of a total of 24, so she'll be in pain when she's doing normal activities. Both of her eyes are blackened and because of that, she'll have reduced vision. She has a minor concussion and a badly bruised hip bone because of what we imagine was a fall."

Ric had grown pale by the end of the nurse's speech and Klaus could feel is ever growing heartbeat as it became lodged in his throat. He waited for Matt to continue going through the notes on his clipboard before Matt smiled kindly and nodded once. "There is good news, as well. For as badly as she was beaten, there will be no long term damage to her brain or her organs. It's possible there will be some slight scarring to her temple and a possible scar on her upper lip where it was split open. Aside from those things, she will be just fine. Excuse me, I should be getting back."

Matt left the room and Ric gripped Klaus' shoulder tightly to swing him around. "What the hell happened!?" he roared angrily.

"I don't know," Klaus murmured with a shake of his head. "I went back to set to retrieve my cellphone from my trailer where I forgot it and noticed Caroline's car parked in the alleyway beside the lot. The light was so dim that I couldn't see much but I realized her purse was beside her car before I saw her. She was – ," Klaus paused to bring in a shuddering breath. "She was on the ground, barely conscious. She was broken and bloody and all I could think to do was to bring her here. I don't know who did it, Ric. I just don't know what happened."

Ric nodded solemnly and rapped Klaus on the back in a gentle show of sympathy. "We'll ask her what happened when she wakes up," he whispered, gazing at the swinging doors.

Both men were silent for a moment before Klaus cleared his throat and toed the tile underneath her foot. "I have a question, actually…"

Ric groaned silently and threw a look to his nephew. "What's that?"

"Well." Klaus licked his lips. "We start filming tomorrow…"

Ric sighed. "And?"

"Caroline obviously cannot film in her condition. I was wondering what you're planning on doing."

"Klaus, this just happened. _It just happened_! I know that you have a lot riding on this film, but so do _I_! I know you're incredibly freaked out about what happened and this is your asshole way of not knowing how to _handle_ it, but I need you to bear with me here, okay? I'm worried about Caroline, not my movie. Caroline comes first and it's because of me and my movie that she's in the hospital, cut open, on an operating table. Please, excuse me."

Ric pushed away roughly and shouldered his way through the swinging doors, disappearing from view. Klaus stared in shock at the doors and slowly sank back into the chair he'd recently vacated, feeling all of his energy as it was sucked from his body. He hadn't meant to upset Ric, but thinking back of his choice of question, he could clearly see why he had. He couldn't help how he thought. He couldn't help the way his mind traveled when he was in fight or flight mode.

Klaus was worried for the sheer fact that maybe he really was as bad as he made everybody believe; maybe he'd turned himself into the thing he'd always pretended to be.

A monster.

He barely got through the questioning that the cops threw at him once they'd gotten around to it. He felt numb, angry with himself, and sick with worry for the broken blonde lying on a hospital bed somewhere in the building. He watched the police stroll away and put their notepads in their pockets, grumbling something about needing coffee.

With a silent roar of outrage, Klaus charged down the hallway and out of the front doors of the hospital, slamming through puddles until he reached his car and left the parking lot.

* * *

In the time it took Ric to find a decent cup of coffee, Caroline's father had already set to buying a train ticket and get to the hospital. He was sending Ric the occasional text asking if Caroline was doing okay and to also ask how the weather was and if he'd brought the appropriate clothing. He was a worry texter, Ric noticed, and that made him chuckle.

"Mr. Saltzman?"

Ric glanced up from his cup to see a doctor walk out of the doors.

"Yes, that's me." He stood from his seat. "Any news?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, all good. There were no more internal injuries and she's currently resting peacefully in room 313. She's under heavy medication so she won't be able to speak, but you may see her if you please. I realize it isn't customary to let non-family members visit with patients before family but seeing as how her father has yet to arrive and we spoke to him briefly on the phone, it's all right."

"Thank you," Ric murmured thankfully as he walked through the doors and down the hallway to room 313.

When he first saw her, Ric wasn't sure he'd gotten the correct room number. He had to check the outside panel to be sure. Caroline was completely black and blue. Her lips were swollen and split in three places; her cheekbones – one of her best features – were bruised purple and blood red. Her usually bright blonde curls were slicked back and away from her face as an ugly purple bruise marred her temple and slashed through her eyebrow.

Ric felt sick to his stomach as he watched her physically grimace and twitch every time she attempted to breathe normally, the pain in her ribs affecting her even in a medicine induced slumber.

All Ric wanted to do was to help her; to take the pain away. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her injuries and angry at the idea that someone would attack such a bright, beautiful person. He wasn't concerned about the movie; that could wait. There was nothing that said he had to film on the day that was set. Caroline, his star, was more important than meeting a deadline.

"Mm," Caroline murmured, tilting her head to the side.

"Caroline?" Ric asked quickly, rushing to her side. "Caroline can you hear me?"

She remained silent with just the soft ticking of the heart monitor ringing in the background. Ric sighed and sat beside Caroline in the chair, leaning back and crossing his arms. He looked around the room, taking in all the details, waiting for something to change.

"Uncle Ric?"

Ric turned around to see Elijah standing in the doorway with a pensive expression in his eyes. Ric stood slowly and walked out of the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind his back. He stared into his nephews eyes and sighed deeply as he shook his head.

"Nik came to see me," Elijah began, peering in the window at Caroline. "He's really shaken up."

"You don't say?" Ric was nonplussed. "Caroline's more than a 'little shaken up.' She's lucky to be alive; I couldn't care less of Klaus is a _little shaken up_."

Elijah sighed deeply. "I'm sorry about Caroline, Ric, and I'll do everything in my power to ensure that we find out who did this to her. You have to understand, though, Uncle, Klaus may not show it to many people, but he is easily broken. You know ever since Henrik - "

"Don't talk to me about Henrik!" Ric hissed, whipping around to face Elijah. "I went through that, too! Niklaus will survive this just as he survived that, and babying him won't help that happen any sooner!"

Elijah nodded. "That's where you're wrong, Ric…." He turned to exit the hallway but paused just at the door, turning his head slightly. "Nik has never been babied and that might be exactly what he needs."

"Right," Ric scoffed at Elijah's retreating back. "-because Klaus will easily accept my help."

Ric sighed angrily and walked back into Caroline's room to fill his vacated chair, hanging his head and cupping his temples with his hands. Klaus needed to be babied? Pah! If anything, he'd always been spoiled with such things! He'd never had to work for anything and always had what he wanted handed to him on a silver platter. Yes, he'd gone through the ringer when his youngest brother Henrik was involved, but still, Ric refused to believe that Klaus was incapable of moving past it.

He swallowed hard and looked at Caroline while he clenched his fists. "I'm going to find who did this to you, Caroline," he murmured as a tear snaked from his eyes and slid down his cheek. "I promise."

* * *

**Not a huge fan of this chapter but I hope you all liked it! I know what happened last chapter was unexpected but it was sort of in my plans all along! Needed to spice things up a bit, if I may say so myself! Klaroline action next chapter, promise ;)**

**Please review!**

**P.S. - no, Ric doesn't have feelings for Caroline. He just feels strongly about her in a fatherly sense and in a familial sense! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Klaus quietly opened the front door of his penthouse to find Kol sitting at the bar and eating a bowl of cereal. The younger Mikaelson refused to look at his older brother and Klaus growled underneath his breath in greeting.

"Are you just getting home?" Kol murmured without looking up. "Isn't it rather late to be getting home?"

"If you haven't got anything useful to say then please refrain from speaking. It just so happens that Caroline Forbes was attacked last night and I spent the evening with her at the hospital where she remains unconscious. I came home to gather you and change into fresh clothing and then we're going to the hospital."

"Why do I have to go?" Kol whined.

Klaus exhaled harshly and looked at his brother. "Because, Kol, Uncle Ric needs us."

"You're thinking about someone other than yourself for once?" Kol raised an eyebrow. "That must feel new."

Klaus glared at Kol and moved past him angrily. "Just get dressed and meet me in the parlor in ten minutes to leave."

Kol watched his brother disappear behind the corner of the hallway and he listened to his bedroom door swing shut. Klaus had looked as if he'd seen a ghost; all pale skin and high, sunken cheeks. His lips were dark red from his worrying teeth and Kol clearly saw the cuticles on his fingers as they were torn to pieces.

Niklaus hardly ever worried about anything other than his own wellbeing and Kol was surprised. Either Caroline Forbes was close to death or Klaus caught feelings.

Kol sighed and dragged his feet into his bedroom to get dressed. He met Klaus in the parlor as the elevator door and they awkwardly traveled down to the parking garage underneath the building. Not speaking was customary when the two of them were in the car together, but Kol could feel something different in the air. He could feel the tension and the worry emanating off of Klaus and slowly into him.

He didn't like feeling worried. It was a foreign and unusual emotion for any Mikaelson to have. Elijah was only ever worried about Klaus, Klaus only worried about his own self, Kol worried about absolutely nothing, and Rebekah was prone to worrying about her appearance.

Even his parents never worried. Not for a very long time, anyway. There was once a time when Mikael and Esther Mikaelson worried about their children. There was also a time when they would have been considered a relatively happy family.

But that only lasted a few years – until the day Henrik passed away.

Kol could feel tears burn in his eyes and settle on his lower lashes at the thought of Henrik. He refused to let himself fall victim to the past and so he bit the inside of his lip until the tears went away and he was once against complacent with the emotion running through him. Complete and udder boredom.

"Have you spoken to Rebekah recently?" Kol asked to break the silence. "She's been dodging my phone calls."

"You don't say? That's not at all surprising seeing as how you stole $300 dollars from her." Klaus clucked his tongue.

"I did not!" Kol argued. "She leant me the money, Nik. She refuses to believe so but she told me that I could borrow the money and pay it back when I could afford to. I didn't _steal_ anything from her."

"That's not what she thinks," Klaus whispered. "She's still in Denver with Stefan."

Kol cocked his head. "That one actor who you worked with? I didn't know you set the two of them up."

"It was unintentional." Klaus shrugged. "Either way, she's happy where she is and I don't wish to bother her."

"Yeah, well, she has no problem bothering any of us," Kol mumbled in annoyance.

Klaus pulled his car into the hospital parking lot and Kol hopped out when the car was in park. Klaus followed suit and the two brothers walked in the front door to the ER where Klaus caught sight of the back of Elijah's suit coat.

"Do you mind waiting in the waiting room? I'm sure Uncle Ric will be in there or shall arrive soon." Klaus took off after his older brother and Kol watched with glazed eyes.

"Yeah, sure, no problem," he mumbled apathetically. "Not like I have a life to live or anything."

Kol sat down and put his forehead in his palms until he felt someone sit beside him in the chair. This person began to sniffle and small whimpers accompanied them, worrying him.

Kol was beginning to grow annoyed with himself.

Lifting his head, he was completely unprepared to stare directly into the deepest green eyes he'd ever come across. They were surrounded by long curly eyelashes and chocolate skin with thick lips that were turned down into a frown. Tears fell down her cheeks and she listlessly wiped them off with the sides of her hands as her breathing hitched.

"Are you all right?" Kol whispered, staring at her in awe.

She was the singularly most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

Her green eyes flashed to his and she nodded as her lower lip trembled. "I'm fine," she said, quietly and without strength. "Just – umm – my friend is here and I don't know if she's okay."

"Oh? What happened to her?" he asked, turning completely to face her.

"She was attacked. Someone jumped her."

_"Caroline was attacked,"_ Klaus had said.

"Is – umm – is her name Caroline?" he questioned gently.

Green eyes locked on his and she straightened her spine. Kol found that immensely attractive and he watched the girl clench her jaw and dig her nails into her palms. "Are you a reporter?"

Kol shook his head. "No, I'm sorry; I should have introduced myself first. My name is Kol Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson's younger brother."

"Oh," she exhaled as her muscles went lax. "I'm Bonnie Bennett. I'm Caroline's best friend and roommate."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bonnie Bennett," Kol said with a grin.

He stretched out his hand for Bonnie to grasp and held tightly onto her fingers in greeting.

Bonnie desperately attempted to ignore the fact that this highly attractive man was giving her chills in the waiting room of an ER. She was trying so hard to focus on the fact that Caroline was lying somewhere in the hospital, hooked up to multiple machines, fighting for her life. Nothing in this world could have prepared Bonnie for the call from Alaric Saltzman, telling her that Caroline was hurt.

But she was incredibly tempted to let Kol's company make her feel better.

"Pleasure's mine." She smiled back.

* * *

Klaus chased after Elijah until he stopped just around a corner, talking quietly. Klaus listened closely and heard Elijah speaking to a woman who was just in front of him and completely out of view.

"What happened?" Elijah asked softly.

The woman coughed and then sighed deeply. "I'm not entirely sure. Ric called me early this morning to tell me that something happened and to get here as soon as I could. I tried to ask him what was happening but he couldn't tell me or he didn't know – something like that. Caroline's father is here and sitting with her so I got some information out of him.

Apparently, she was attacked going to her car. She had multiple broken ribs, bad bruises and some lacerations. She's got a concussion and it's possible she'll have slight amnesia when she wakes up."

Elijah exhaled loudly. "Who could have done this?"

Elijah shifted and Klaus peeked around the corner to see Elena Gilbert standing in front of Elijah with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't know," Elena said honestly. "Could have been a random attack or it could have been intentional. All I know is that Ric is going to postpone the filming of the movie because he refuses to cast someone is Caroline's place."

Klaus clenched his jaw and nodded, blinking slowly. His asshole question was answered and now he just needed to find Ric and apologize.

"I'm sorry you're going through all of this," Elijah said quietly. "I know you care for Miss Forbes and this has to be quite troubling. If you need anything – anything at all – you have my number."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at this; why did Elijah sound so…casual? Could he even sound casual? Klaus looked around the corner for a quick moment before jerking his head back to his side. Elijah and Elena had hugging silently with Elijah's chin resting on Elena's head and Elena's nose buried in Elijah's chest. They'd looked very friendly, Klaus thought to himself. He'd ask Elijah about that at some point in time.

Klaus could tell they weren't going to discontinue hugging any time soon so he quietly tiptoed away from the two agents and stood at the other end of the hallway. He unlocked his cell phone and quickly put it on silent before plodding down the hallway whilst holding the phone up to his ear.

"No, I don't know who attacked her. Yes, yes I'm sure the attacker was one when I found her. I'll just - …"

Klaus turned the corner, breaking up Elijah and Elena who had just barely heard his voice before jumping apart.

"…I'll just call you later when I know something. Yes – yes, all right. Goodbye."

Klaus falsely hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket as he looked up at Elijah. "Oh, hello, brother," he greeted awkwardly before his eyes jerked to Elena's. "Hello, there."

Elijah sighed and Elena blushed as her eyes shot all about the room, avoiding Klaus' stare. "Oh – Mr. Mikaelson. I'll just – I'll just be going. I'll talk to you later, Elijah."

Elijah nodded and Elena shot down the hallway to disappear into the waiting room. Klaus looked at Elijah and smirked as he shook his head back and forth. "Tell me, brother – do you make it a habit of falling for the agent of the other costar? Or is this the first time?"

Elijah rolled his eyes and straightened his suit jacket. "I'm too tired to deal with your mundane sense of humor, Niklaus. I'm here before Uncle Ric called me and told me what happened – though I'm _absolutely sure_ you would have done it eventually. Tell _me_, brother – do you make it a habit of being completely 100% self-centered every moment of the day? Or is this just a special case?"

Elijah brushed past Klaus' shoulder without completely running into him – opposed to Klaus just that morning with Kol. Elijah was different than Klaus in a sense that he never got even when he was angry, just used his words as his weapon.

Klaus shook it off and swallowed hard, glancing over his shoulder and Elijah's retreating back. "I pride myself on being 100% self-centered 100% of the time," he murmured as he jerked his jacket back into place. "It's what keeps the wrinkles away."

He sighed deeply and clenched his jaw as he began to follow Elijah. If no one could stand him and everything he had to say then he would just _stop_ speaking for the rest of the day.

* * *

Caroline was still spinning into the clouds when she heard the telltale beeping of a heart monitor in the back of her subconscious. There were warm fingers stroking her hand and she could feel her pinky finger begin to twitch on its own accord, seeking the warmth of the other person in the room. She felt her neck begin to turn away from the bright sun in front of her face and then her eyes popped open to stare into a worried green gaze.

"Caroline?" Bonnie whispered quietly. "Can you hear me?"

Caroline nodded and she scrunched her face gently into pain. "I hurt."

"I know, honey," Bonnie crooned as she began to stroke Caroline's cheek. "You were in an accident. You're going to be okay, I promise."

"Oh god," she moaned as her hands traveled over the thick blankets covering her body.

Bonnie jumped out of her seat and ran out into the hallway to track down a nurse to tell her she was awake. Bonnie rushed back in after a moment with a nurse who was being quickly followed by Elena and Caroline's father.

"Caroline!" Bill said with such relief Caroline could feel it in her bones.

The nurse rushed around the table and quickly checked her vitals before administering more morphine into her IV drip.

"Oh god, kiddo; I was scared absolutely shitless for a minute there," Bill murmured as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her hand. "Don't ever do that to me again, okay?"

Caroline nodded sadly and felt the pull of her strained muscles and damaged skin. "I promise, daddy."

"Caroline, so glad to see you're awake! How are you feeling?" a doctor with an exceptionally kind face asked upon entering the room.

Caroline swallowed hard and sighed. "I'm – umm – I'm feeling a little awful. Everything really hurts."

The doctor, a kind looking man with a name tag that read Matt Donovan, stopped in front of her and murmured. "Yes, that's to be expected, I'm afraid. It seems you were attacked and hurt pretty badly. Luckily, the worst of the damage is a mild concussion that seems to already be going away. Your ribs will heal as will your cuts and bruises. There should only be minimal scarring – by which I mean a slight nick in your left eyebrow that will only serve to add character. All in all, you're extremely lucky."

Caroline stared at the doctor in shock and she felt her lower lip begin to wobble. "I don't even remember what happened. Oh my god – who did this to me? Why – why did this happen? Oh god, the movie – how am I going to do the movie! I'm so sorry!"

Caroline broke down into hysterical tears before Bill gently sat on the bed beside her and wrapped her in his arms. He pushed her chin to his shoulder and rocked her back and forth until she was quietly murmuring and sniffling into his jacket.

"Why did this happen, daddy?" she whimpered into his shoulder. "I don't understand."

"I don't know, baby." He shook his head resolutely and glanced at the people standing around them, all faces forlorn. Bonnie was crying silently into her sleeve and she blinked slowly as tears slid down her cheeks. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

Caroline was sitting up in her bed and staring out the window when she heard Klaus come in. She could hear his tentative steps as he began to enter the room and then his steps faltered just inside the door frame, as if he'd just caught sight of her.

He walked into Caroline's room and he wasn't entirely sure of what to expect. He thought maybe she would be sleeping and he could sit beside her bed and talk to her. He was hoping maybe she _would_ be asleep so that he could just talk without the fear of being heard. He could usually say more when there was no possibility of a response from who he was talking to.

"Oh," he said, clearly startled. "I wasn't sure you were going to be awake."

Caroline sneered slightly and looked back out the window. "Sorry to disappoint you," she mumbled.

"No, you didn't disappoint me. I'm sorry, ah shit. I'm sorry. I was hoping to talk to you but then I was sort of hoping you'd be asleep so you wouldn't have to listen and just – dammit. How are you feeling?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow at Klaus' outburst and shrugged lightly as to not aggravate her injuries. "I'm fantastic"

Klaus swallowed. "I'm the one who found you."

The tension in the room thickened briefly before Caroline cleared her dry throat and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Is that so? Well, thank you."

"Caroline," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Why are you being like this?"

"Why am I being like this? You'd got to be kidding." She looked enraged. "You insult me daily and then save me one time and think I'm just going to pretend all of your words were never said? Well, sorry, no can do. I'm not going to forget what you said to me."

"I didn't _mean_ any of it, for god's sake!" he shouted.

"You say that sort of thing to people for fun? Good!"

"I can see this conversation is going to go absolutely nowhere," Klaus murmured in annoyance. "I'll just be leaving then."

Caroline made a pained noise in the back of her throat and tears quickly slid down her cheeks to soak in the material of her hospital gown. "I'm sorry."

Klaus watched as she began to shake uncontrollably, convulsing on the bed. She covered her face with her hands and shook back in forth as sobs wracked her body. Klaus reacted quickly and sat on the bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her. He gently pulled her into his chest and murmured into her ears as she cried and cried.

"Caroline, please, breathe," he said quietly as he rubbed her back with the pads of his fingers. "I need you to breathe before you pass out."

She took deep shuddering breaths as her fingers clawed the fabric of his shirt and she pulled herself even closer to him. He held onto her shaking frame as her sobs grew softer until she was merely hiccupping.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered with a sniffle. "I'm so out of it I can't stop crying."

"I understand," he told her. He swallowed hard and pulled back to look into her eyes. "You've been through a tough time. I – umm – I have to go, I'm afraid. The police wished to speak with me about what happened and I still need to give them a report."

"Will you answer a question first?" Caroline whispered.

Dread instantly flooded his mind and he started to say no before he truly looked into her eyes. "Yes," he sighed.

"How did you find me?"

He swallowed and looked down at the sheets he was bunching in his loose fists. "I had to return to my trailer for my cell phone because I forgot it. I was walking back to my car when I realized yours was still parked behind the set in the alleyway. I thought maybe you'd gotten home some other way but then I noticed your purse."

He shrugged resolutely and bit his bottom lip, worrying it with his teeth.

"There wasn't really that much to it," he finished, honestly.

"Oh."

He nodded while standing from the bed and walking to the other side of the room. He stood in the doorway and stared down at the ground before quickly glancing up at Caroline to see her watching him closely.

"Thank you," she murmured, turning away to look out the window.

Klaus felt his breathing hitch and he clenched his jaw. "Yeah, not a problem."

Klaus left the room and Caroline took as deep a breath as she could, dragging the offending air into her lungs where it burned. She was more confused about what happened than she ever had been about anything in her life. She couldn't remember any details from her attack, only the sight of dark, hatred filled green eyes and nothing else.

She fought the desire to cry in pity for herself and instead strengthened her resolve, staring out the window. She had to be tougher than this. She just had to.

* * *

**please review! **


	8. Chapter 8

Caroline had been in the hospital for only a matter of days before the doctor told her she was allowed to go home. He gave her strict rules about not getting up and making sure she was resting enough to give her body time to heal. Bonnie was more than happy to oblige to the doctor's orders and she put Caroline on bed rest, getting her things she needed the instant she needed it.

"Bonnie, hey, you know you don't have to keep doing this, right?" Caroline asked tiredly as Bonnie brought her a glass of water and the pain medication she'd been taking. "I can actually walk now."

"The doctor said to not let you move around until your bruises are at least 65% disappeared. You're at a strong 50% but not quite a 65%. I don't want you getting hurt or upsetting your ribs, Care. I don't mind getting you stuff."

Bonnie moved about the room and finally settled on the edge of the bed to watch Caroline take her pills.

"Have you talked to Klaus?" she asked Caroline.

Caroline shook her head and sighed, falling back against the pillows gingerly. "Not since that day in the hospital. I guess he's been busy with the movie and stuff."

"Too busy to check on you?" Bonnie scoffed. "As if."

"Bon, he had a life before this movie and my attack. It's not like he's going to drop everything for someone he can't even _stand_."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I don't think Mr. Mikaelson is as tough as he seems."

"No?" Caroline grinned. "What about the younger Mr. Mikaelson? You know, the one you've been on the phone with every night since you met him?"

Bonnie blushed lightly and cleared her throat, shrugging. "Kol and I are just friends. He was concerned about you and wanted to make sure you were doing okay while asking me how I was doing."

"Sure," Caroline said, disbelieving. "-and I'm the queen of England."

Bonnie smiled slyly and stood from the bed to walk to Caroline's closet. She stood just inside the door and took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders and swallowing hard. "I have a question, Care," she began, not looking at the blonde sitting on the bed. "I – umm – I haven't wanted to bring up the attack because, you know, it was really soon but – umm – do you remember anything yet?"

Bonnie finally looked up at Caroline with a shaky breath. Caroline knew the question had been in the back of Bonnie's mind for the last week but she'd been too careful not to say anything. She didn't want to dredge up any traumatic thoughts and Caroline appreciated it – but she knew it was time.

"I don't remember much, honestly," she whispered. "Just a few details that I seem to get flashes of when I don't want to. Like…like dark green eyes. They were so mad and they were just glaring down at me. It was a woman, I'm pretty sure, because the voice was very feminine."

"Some random woman attacked you from the street?" Bonnie questioned, shocked.

"No, I don't think it was random." Caroline sighed shakily and her lower lip trembled. "She was wearing a ski-mask to cover her face. I'm pretty sure she was waiting for me, too."

"Why did she attack you, Caroline? What could you have done?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. I asked that same question, I think – or I said I hadn't done anything. She was pretty adamant that I did, so, I don't really know."

Bonnie clenched her jaw and sighed through her nose, looking at the ceiling. "The police haven't found anything. Everything in the alley was cleaned of finger prints, so this person knew what they were doing."

Caroline stared at Bonnie and felt sadness surge through her body. All she had wanted to be in this movie and make a name for herself. She wanted more than the small town life that she had started to lead – and she'd been given the chance to do so. Someone who she didn't know what desperately trying to take that away from her and she felt herself grow angry.

"Where's your dad?" Bonnie broke the silence.

"He went back home to check on the animals," she told her, smiling. "You know Dad – pets are just as important as children."

Bonnie rolled her eyes just as someone knocked on the front door of the home. She looked at Caroline one last time and left the room to get to the door before the person left. Caroline listened to Bonnie open the door and greet the person standing there, her voice animated and not at all similar to the way she had sounded a few moments before.

After a few seconds, Bonnie returned with a large package in her hands that was decorated with light pastel colors and the words "Get well, soon!" written all along the top.

Bonnie smiled. "Wonder who it's from?"

Caroline held out her hands and Bonnie dropped the box in her lap as she went to fetch some scissors to break it open. She returned quickly and slid the sharp scissors down the middle opening of the cardboard box, watching as the parcel popped up. Caroline pulled back the tabs of the box and reached in the produce a card, pulling it out of the sleeve of the envelope to fold it open.

The breath hitched in her throat and she felt tears well in her eyes as shakes began to fill her body. She dropped the card on her lap and stared in open mouthed shock at the package, her face going pale.

"What is it?" Bonnie shrieked, grabbing the card as Caroline's shakes grew stronger.

_ Miss Forbes, _

_I'm glad to see you survived our first encounter. You're more a fighter than I initially gave you credit for. I hope you understand that this isn't over and you shouldn't get comfortable. I'll be back, Caroline – you can bet on it._

Bonnie whimpered in her throat and stared at Caroline whose cheeks were covered in tears.

"I'm calling the cops."

* * *

It only took the cops a matter of minutes to reach the girls' home where they sat huddled on Caroline's bed with the box perched on the end. Bonnie's eyes were glassy as she held back tears while Caroline's were haunted, a hollow rendition of her normal glowing self. She stared unseeing at the box, waiting for something to happen. For something to hop out and hurt her. After reading the note, her and Bonnie had pushed it to the edge of the bed and sat holding hands under the covers, too afraid to venture deeper into the parcel to find what was in it.

"Miss Forbes," Officer Perry said as he kneeled beside her. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Caroline cleared her throat and turned her blank gaze to him. "Bonnie answered the door and a delivery man gave her the package. Seemed like a normal thing, you know? She brought it back in here because I can't really just get up and walk around and we thought it was from a relative or something wanting me to get better. I took the card and read it and then Bonnie read it when she realized it wasn't okay. That's it."

He nodded. "You didn't look in the box?"

Caroline shook her head and licked her dry lips. "No, we didn't think it would be for the best. We watch a lot of crime shows, you know, and we didn't want to mess with possible finger prints."

Officer Perry nodded again wrote down what she said in a small pocket sized note book he produced from his side. He scribbled a few incoherent lines on the paper and pocketed it once more on his buckle, sighing.

"We're going to look through the box now, Miss Forbes. You should probably be here just in case there is significance to the items in the box that only you would know."

Caroline bit her lip and turned her eyes to the parcel as Officer Perry and another officer slowly peeled open the sides and dug gently through it. It took them a moment to realize there was only one lone item inside and they brought it out to show Caroline. It was a long stemmed rose that was snuggled into the box with a lining of soft tissue paper. She stared at it in confusion, not seeing the evil behind the rose, when Officer Perry quickly dropped it back in the box with a disgusted cough.

Maggots swarmed over his fingers as he deftly attempted to flick them off and back into the open package. Caroline gagged and painfully dragged herself up to the very top of the bed where she began to shake, Bonnie clutching her gently with her nose buried in Caroline's shoulder.

"No unidentifiable significance, I'm afraid," Officer Perry grumbled darkly, swiping his palm on his thigh. "We'll take this down to the precinct and dust it for prints. Don't worry, Miss Forbes; we'll get this figured out."

Caroline couldn't nod. She couldn't acknowledge Officer Perry or his partner as they held the box and ducked out of the bedroom and left the duplex. All of her actions were automatic as her second wave of shock in the last week began to cloud her mind and suck her into a hole of confusion.

She couldn't understand why this was happening to her. She didn't believe she'd don't something so horrid to another human being that they would try to kill her and then torment her about her surviving. She knew she wasn't the most pristine or amazing person in the world but she sure as hell didn't deserve almost dying.

"Why are they doing this?" Bonnie whimpered, shaking her head. "What could someone have against you? We just got here!"

Caroline shrugged apathetically. "I don't know, Bon," she whispered. "Someone isn't happy with me and they're trying to ruin my life. They don't want me to be in this movie."

Bonnie swallowed thickly. "Are you going to back out of it?"

Was she?

"I can't," she replied, honestly. "I survived the attack. I survived auditions, I survived moving here, god, I even survived meeting Klaus Mikaelson and his verbal attacks. I'm not going to let some crazy stalker ruin my life when they couldn't even end it."

* * *

**It's short, I know :/ I'm sorry! This wasn't much of a filler but it felt like one and it was hard to write. I'm also really sick, so, there's that. **

**I hope you liked it!**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Caroline sat in a plush chair in the atrium of Woodstock Corps as Alaric and Klaus spoke quietly about the course of action that would be needed to continue the production of the movie. Both men threw secretive glances in her direction every few minutes which she tried to ignore, but her eyes always seemed to sense when theirs were on her.

After about 30 minutes of the silent treatment, Caroline blew out an exasperated breath and stood on shaky, tired legs. She groaned in discomfort and Alaric was instantly at her side, his hands attempting to push her back into the chair.

"What are you doing? Do you need something?" he asked, urgently. "I'll get you what you need."

Caroline sighed heavily. "I need to move. The doctor said that I can't just sit still all of the time because I'll cause myself more damage that way." She looked pointedly at Klaus who had yet to acknowledge her. It was as if the attack never happened and he was back to the way he was before. "I need to pee. Can I pee?"

Alaric blanched and gently moved her in the direction of the bathroom to watch her hobble off. "I'm sorry."

She sighed again, this time sadly. "No, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. I'm just irritable because I can't move and I want to _move_! It doesn't feel right just _sitting_ all day and having people wait on me hand and foot. I've never _lived_ like that!"

"No, I don't suppose you have," Klaus murmured, shaking his head. He scoffed quietly and left Ric's side to walk out of the door in the direction of his trailer.

Caroline felt a lump lodge in her throat and tears brimmed on her lower lashes, blurring her vision. She couldn't understand how he could be so cruel to her after showing her such tenderness. He'd saved her life, cried for her, carried her from her near death bed and had driven her to the hospital. She couldn't begin to fathom how his demeanor could change so drastically in only a matter of days.

"Jesus," Ric muttered, shaking his head. "That boy needs a serious therapy session."

Caroline just shrugged resolutely.

"Don't listen to him, Care. Go to the bathroom and have some lunch. Take your pain pills if you haven't and then we can discuss what's going on with the movie and your role."

She nodded and hobbled off to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and sighing as her head fell back against the wood and tears of exhaustion and anger rolled down her cheeks.

Alaric looked off in the direction that Klaus had retreated to and thundered past the workers to follow his nephew. Klaus was pacing just in front of his trailer when Ric popped up beside him and thumped the back of his head with his palm.

"Ow, what the hell!" Klaus roared, whipping around. "What the hell was that for, Ric!?"

"You know exactly what it was for!" Ric yelled as his face turned red. "I know that you have the superiority complex the size of the entire damn globe, but you need to get the stick out of your ass! Caroline has done absolutely nothing to you except make you nervous about your popularity! This is not your movie, Niklaus! This is my movie! You auditioned, you are perfect for the part, and she's perfect for the part that she's playing! Go back in there, apologize to Caroline, and get some damn counseling!"

Klaus listened to Ric's rant and watched in shock as his uncle turned on his heel and stomped his way back into the building. Klaus expelled and angry breath, pushing it through his lips as they shook around the air. Who did Ric think he was talking to him like that? He didn't know what he was going through! He didn't know the torment he'd gone through the last week watching Caroline progressively heal and become herself! No one knew!

He'd watched Caroline for a week without her noticing. He'd gone to visit her in the hospital as she slept, healing her injuries from the inside out. He'd driven past her quaint duplex every other night to make sure that no one was sitting outside and plotting their next attack. When he'd received the phone call from Elijah telling him about the box Caroline had gotten at her home, he'd been livid. He'd seen red and stomped through his penthouse knocking things off of the shelves as Kol sat on the chair chuckling. Kol had chuckled up until the moment Klaus spat out, "_Bonnie opened the package, little brother_." That shut Kol up incredibly quickly.

Klaus grumbled underneath his breath as the impact of Ric's words settled over him. He shook off the feeling of remorse and squared his shoulders, jerking his jacket back into place on his shoulders and trudging toward the direction of the door to the set. He was just pulling the door open as Caroline was hobbling towards it, her head down and eyes staring at the ground.

Klaus watched her shoulders tense and then her gaze slowly slid up from the ground, past his toes, to his eyes where hers hardened and her lips twisted into a grimace.

"What?" she spat, limping towards him.

Klaus was overcome with the urge to wrap his arm around her torso and help her in the direction she was headed, but he knew better. He'd done more harm to her with his actions and words than her assailant had done with his or her fists.

"I'm - ," he began, scratching the back of his neck.

"Do. Not. Start," Caroline ground out between clenched teeth.

Klaus' eyes snapped to Caroline's to see that she was tearing up with anger and her face was turning red.

"But I'm – "

"I don't want to hear it, Klaus. I don't want to hear what you have to say. Wanna know why? Because I'm tired. I'm tired of you hating me and making my life miserable. I'm tired of you being nice to me for one second, saving my life, and then treating me like shit the next. What did I ever do to you, huh? Were you afraid, for even a second, that you might actually like me? That I was a good person and maybe we could be friends? Is that why you treat me the way you treat me?"

Klaus sputtered and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" Caroline was seething with anger and Klaus could tell by the harshness of her breathing that she was upsetting her injuries. He reached for her arm and she ripped it away from him, eyes glowing with hatred. "Don't touch me!"

"Caroline, you're in pain – I can see it in your eyes. Yes, surprisingly enough, I can see the discomfort underneath all of that burning rage. Now please, let me take you back to your trailer where you can continue to scream at me if you wish to do so."

Caroline huffed twice and then she visibly deflated, the red leaving her face to be replaced by a pale glow. "Fine."

Klaus wrapped the fingers of his right hand around her wrist and brought his left arm around her waist, bringing her into his side where he carefully held onto her, letting his warmth soak into her skin. She was tense but he could feel the way she was holding herself against him that she was depending on his stability to carry her through the set and out to the lot where her trailer sat.

When the two of them reached the trailer, Klaus pulled the door open and then effortlessly lifted Caroline off of her feet and through the door. She squealed slightly and watched Klaus' face in shock as he gently let her slide down the entire front of his body. Her hands were resting on his chest and his hands on her waist as her feet once again came in contact with the floor, the toes of her slippers barely coming in contact with the scratchy carpet of the trailer.

The air in the room became filled with sizzling electricity as Caroline found her eyes staring straight into Klaus', the blue sucking her in and making her feel as if the entire ocean had washed over her. She felt the most utter sense of calm, more calm than she had been since she'd moved to California and met Klaus Mikaelson.

"What were you saying?" he whispered, the small utterance escaping his lips with the briefest of warm breaths on her cheeks.

Caroline blinked once, twice, three times before she could collect herself. She licked her lips and let her eyes fall to Klaus' mouth, admiring the shape of his lips.

"I don't remember."

"Mm," Klaus murmured, feeling the heat growing in the small room. "I believe you were yelling at me."

Caroline felt her eyebrow pucker. "Was I?"

Klaus wanted to smile. He wanted to chuckle and grin – but he couldn't. He was entirely too entranced by being that close to Caroline. He never imagined he'd be holding her the way he was. That she would let him hold her that way. He could feel her heartbeat through her clothes because she was pressed against him. He could feel the warmth underneath her palms where they rested on his chest.

He could hear the way her breath was coming in short puffs, her trepidation evident. She was nervous – nervous about him – about their close proximity.

"Caroline," Klaus whispered in confusion, not wanting to let the situation go out of control.

Caroline felt herself leaning towards Klaus infinitesimally – only in the smallest of incriminates. Her eyes were pulling closed as her lips were growing closer and closer to Klaus'. Klaus wanted to stop what was happening but he felt himself losing control – the peppermint of her toothpaste and the softness of her pink lips beckoned him in until their mouths were almost touching.

"No," he whispered harshly, gently pushing Caroline away.

Caroline's eyes snapped open and she felt her mouth fall agape at the sight before her. Klaus' eyes were glassy, his cheeks glowing red, and his mouth open as well – harsh breaths escaping from his lips.

"What?" she mumbled, confused.

Klaus shook his head and pushed her away, setting her completely on the ground. He missed her warmth almost instantly, wanting to crush her against him chest and his lips against hers. He wanted to possess her – to own her. He wanted Caroline Forbes more than he wanted another person in a very long time – and he knew that he would lose everything to her if he let her get that close.

"I'm sorry, I must go," he whispered hurriedly, racing for the door.

Caroline watched in shocked confusion as Klaus ripped the door back open and leapt outside, shutting the small exit behind his back. She felt every ounce of energy pull from her body as her knees gave out and she fell back against the little couch cushion underneath her. She was stunned.

Did she almost kiss Klaus Mikaelson? Did she really almost fall for his trick? He'd tried to distract her! Wanted her to forget that she was spitting angry at him! But hadn't he asked her to continue talking? Asked her if she was angry at him? Had that been a ploy? No, she'd seen the look in his eyes. Seen the shock at the feeling between them. She knew that he felt the sparks as much as she had.

Then why had he stopped the kiss? It was going to happen – one more inch between their lips and then they would have been molded together, using each other as anchors. Had he used her? Had he tried to manipulate her into not being angry?

No, Caroline didn't think so. She wasn't the best at reading people – no doubt about that – but she was sure enough about the look in his eyes as he had pushed her away to know he wasn't manipulating her. She'd seen deep sadness, the most crushing type of sadness, in the recesses of his gaze. He'd looked lost – like a little boy whose parents abandoned him. He looked broken – empty.

Caroline shook her head and felt the weight of the past few weeks physically lift off of her shoulders. She didn't feel burdened by Klaus anymore – not even by her attack. Who would have thought that Klaus' hatred for her would have stressed her out more than an attack on her life? She sighed and blew a breath out between her lips that lifted her bangs off of her forehead.

Klaus wasn't as mean as he liked her to believe – like he liked everyone to believe. He was just a broken man, a man who needed someone. Caroline didn't know how to get him to trust her, but she knew one thing.

She wasn't angry at him anymore.

* * *

Klaus burst into his trailer and his lungs felt like they were on fire – close to exploding. He never felt this way before, like he was losing control. He'd almost kissed Caroline Forbes, a woman who – as of a few weeks ago – he had thought he had truly hated. The way her eyes had sparkled at him and the softness of her breath on his lips made him forget about what was on his mind, even for the slightest of seconds.

"Agh, what the hell!" he screamed, punching the cushion of his couch. "That was too bloody close."

He couldn't allow himself to get too close to Caroline. He couldn't let himself fall into her trap – even if she wasn't trapping him on purpose. She was a danger to him – dangerous to his heart. He was in no shape to give his heart to another person, especially not someone as easily broken as Caroline.

He was less afraid of her possibly hurting him and more afraid of the fact that he could hurt her. He could break Caroline Forbes' heart and ruin her.

And that was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

It had been two days since the incident in Caroline's trailer and she was sitting in one of the barstools in her kitchen chatting with Bonnie and Elena. She'd called Elena to ask her a few questions about possibly shooting some of the later scenes of the movie with her still black eye and split lip.

"It's possible," Elena said, stroking her chin. She brought out her copy of the script and thumbed through the pages until she reached the point where Remy was injured. "It says that Remy has a black eye only but I'm sure Ric wouldn't mind having a split in there, as well. As long as you're feeling all right enough to do shoot, I can call him tomorrow and see what he thinks."

Caroline nodded. "I feel horrible for putting everything on hold for so long, it just seems like something that would make it easier on the production crew and maybe take a little bit of stress off of Ric's shoulders."

Elena hummed her approval and smiled and Caroline. "Your dedication is refreshing, you know. Most actresses would totally milk the fact that they're hurt but you just want to jump right back into the saddle. It's sort of weird, seeing as how it means you'll have to be even closer to Klaus and he's not your favorite person."

"Oh," Caroline murmured quietly as a blush lit up her cheeks. "Being close to Klaus is no longer the issue."

Bonnie's head jerked up from her waffles and Elena stopped shuffling through papers.

"Meaning?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline suddenly realized what she said and her hand shot up to her mouth. Her wide eyes flitted between Bonnie's dubious expression to Elena's one of interest.

"Crap." Caroline sighed. "Fine, fine. Klaus and I almost kissed."

Silence filled the kitchen and then Bonnie began to shake her head with a small, condescending laugh.

"Figures," she said, taking a bite of waffle. "You have a crush on him."

"No!" Caroline scoffed. "I do not!"

"Yes, you do! If only you'd seen the way your eyes lit up all dramatic and love sick when you said his name! You have a _thing_ for him, Caroline Forbes – and you're fighting it!"

Elena was staring at Bonnie with a saddened expression. "Would it be so bad if she did?"

Caroline chose to stay quiet as Bonnie groaned and dropped her head. "He treats her horribly! He makes her upset; she cries because of him, and what – because he saved her life suddenly it's okay to have a crush on him! Stockholm Syndrome at its finest!"

"I do not have Stockholm Syndrome, Bon – and if I have a crush on him, it's because he's cute and that's all. Simply infatuation and that's _it_." Caroline gently let herself fall off of the seat until her toes hit the floor and she padded around the kitchen until she got to the refrigerator.

"It's not a bad thing to have a crush on Klaus, Caroline," Elena said, soothingly, folding her papers back until piles and then sliding them into her briefcase. "I myself have a crush on someone, too."

"Oh?" Caroline asked, pulling out a bottle of water from the fridge and taking a small sip. "Do tell."

Elena chuckled and shouldered her bag. "Uh uh, I don't think so. Anyway, I have to go but I'll call you and tell you what Ric says about filming those scenes. Feel better, Care – and Bonnie – do not be mean to her."

Elena left the room and the girls listened to the front door open and shut, the clicking of Elena's heels resounding off of the stone path as she walked to her car. Caroline raised an eyebrow and drank more of her water while Bonnie stood and brought her plate to the sink to rinse off the syrup.

"You have to admit, Bonnie, Klaus has a really cute accent."

Bonnie scoffed. "Right, it's the accent – the ass has nothing to do with it."

Caroline snorted in amusement and capped her water, setting it on the counter. Someone knocked on the door just as she gently lifted her flannel pants higher on her hips, prodding the ugly purple bruise on the skin over her hipbone. Sighing, she shuffled her bare feet through the kitchen and then the living room, stopping in front of the door to yank it open.

"Oh," she said in surprise as her heart sped to life in her chest. "Klaus?"

* * *

Klaus sat in his car in front of Caroline's house thinking when he realized he'd been sitting there for over an hour in silence. He didn't know what he was doing there. He didn't know what he would possibly say to her. Did he apologize? Did he say he was sorry for getting so carried away? Or did he lie? Would he lie to her about how he truly felt and let her believe that the near kiss they'd almost shared had been a fluke?

He roared in disgust for himself and hit the steering wheel hard, feeling the car vibrate underneath his angry hands. He wanted to lie! He didn't want to tell Caroline the truth! But one thing he wasn't was a liar – and no amount of trepidation would make him become one.

What Klaus knew was that he simply did not want to share his deepest darkest secrets – he didn't want to divulge Caroline on the details of his past and why he was so vicious to everyone he knew. How could he explain to her that what happened in his past made him a cold monster? She would coddle him. She would try and make him feel like it wasn't his fault and that he shouldn't feel guilty.

But that's all Klaus ever felt – all the time.

A door shut and Klaus slid down in his seat at the sight of Elena walking from the home and to her car. Klaus chuckled without feeling and watched her drive away in the inevitable direction of his oldest brother's house. Little did Elijah know, but Klaus knew all about his secret relationship with Elena Gilbert. He wasn't a stupid man, no matter how much Elijah thought so.

Klaus straightened his shoulders and sighed, pulling the keys from the ignition and pocketing them as he stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him. The path to the front door with short and sweet and before he knew it, Klaus was standing just outside the duplex with his hand poised and ready to know.

_"Right, it's the accent – the ass has nothing to do with it."_

"What?" Klaus whispered with a knowing smile. "Interesting."

With his smile in place, Klaus knocked twice on the door and waited for someone to answer, listening to the sound of shuffling feet and a small giggle.

Caroline.

The smile fell from Klaus' lips just as the door was pulled open and Caroline was standing on the other side in pajamas and dark purple bruises.

"Oh," she said quietly with a tilt of her head. "Klaus?"

He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm sorry to intrude. May I come in?"

Caroline stared at him dumbly and then nodded, stepping aside. "Yeah, come on in."

Klaus stepped past Caroline, inhaling her scent as he went. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla – an intoxicating combination that he found himself searching for constantly. Her apartment was quaint but much like her – understated and classy. He enjoyed the atmosphere and began to smile until Bonnie appeared at the door to the kitchen with a look of disdain.

"Klaus, I presume," she said with a slight sneer. "I've heard so much about you."

Klaus grimaced. "I assume the thing you've heard are nothing good but painfully true. I'm afraid I haven't been the nicest person to Miss Forbes."

"Nope," Bonnie said, popping the 'p'.

"Bonnie, will you let Klaus and me talk for a minute?" Caroline asked, stepping around Klaus to stand in front of him with her arms crossed underneath her breasts.

Bonnie nodded and glared at Klaus as she turned around to walk back through the kitchen and into the hallway where she traveled the short distance to her bedroom. Klaus sighed in relief and waited for Caroline to turn around and face him. She did and Klaus sucked in an inaudible breath – he didn't know if it was possible, but she was even more attractive in just her house clothes and virtually no makeup.

"You wanted to talk?" she questioned, moving to sit on the couch and gesturing for him to do the same.

"Oh, yes." Klaus followed her lead and sat a far distance from her on the couch cushions. "I hope you don't mind my intrusion on your home but I needed to speak with you."

"Okay," she whispered carefully.

"All right," he sighed. "Where do I begin? Okay, I wanted to apologize. I very much overstepped my boundaries the other day in your trailer. You were arguing with me and then you weren't and I wasn't acting like myself. So, I'm sorry, Caroline. I shouldn't have tried to kiss you."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "You feel that guilty about almost kissing me?" Klaus instantly realized she seemed angry. "Would it have been that bad?"

Klaus' eyes widened. "You've misunderstood me. I'm sorry, again. It's not that it would have been bad to kiss you, it's more than it would have ruined things, I'm sure. We're two incredibly different people and – "

" – and I'm out of your league?" She seemed disgusted. "Well, thanks."

"Would you quit interrupting me?" Klaus shouted as he grew angry. "If you'd simply allow me to finish, you'd realize that I'm not sorry we would have kissed and more sorry for taking advantage of you!"

Caroline blushed. "Sorry."

"Okay,' he sighed again. "As I was saying, I didn't mean to take advantage of your anger. You were in the middle of telling me how you felt and I made you stop so I could take you back to your trailer."

"I remember."

He swallowed hard. "It wasn't that I didn't want to kiss you, darling. It was that I thought it would complicate things. Actors and actresses that become something more significant tend to fall apart, as does a movie if they're working on one together. I don't want that to happen to this movie and I don't want to hurt you."

Caroline watched a wave of vulnerability flash through Klaus' eyes and she knew he was serious, even if she'd never assume he was telling the truth. She knew in that moment that Klaus would never hurt her if he had the choice – even though she knew close to nothing about him. He wouldn't hurt her because it would hurt him.

"I see," she murmured, standing from the sofa to pace in front of it. "Well, I appreciate you coming here to tell me this. It was a little awkward to walk out of my trailer with a blush on my face the color of tomatoes."

Klaus snorted. "Your face was the color of tomatoes?"

"Yes – because I was embarrassed _and_ angry. Both! Not a very comfortable combination!"

He nodded. "Well, yes, I can imagine."

Caroline was still pacing and that's when Klaus' eyes caught the very edge of the bruise on her hip. Not paying attention, Caroline let her hands fall and one hand hit her hip, making her gasp in pain. Her knees buckled and began to fall to the floor in pain – a startled cry emanating from her lips.

Klaus reacted quickly and lunged for her, gathering her into his arms and falling underneath her before she could hit the ground. Klaus landed on his back, arms around Caroline's torso and she landed on top of him. Her nose fell into his neck and she buried her face in his skin as the pain of her accidently hitting her bruise traveled through her body and made her tense. Klaus whispered to her quietly as his hands automatically began to stroke her back.

"You're okay," he said gently, running his fingers up and down her spine as she slowly began to relax in his arms. "Just breathe and the pain will go away. Are you all right?"

Caroline slowly lifted her head to stare down into Klaus' sea blue eyes, the color slowly sucking her in until she felt like she was drowning. The scent of Klaus' cologne filled her nose and she breathed deeply, digging her fingers into the fabric of his shirt as she let her eyes fall to his mouth where his plump bottom lip was sucked tightly in between his teeth.

"Yes, I'm fine," she responded. "Just a little – umm – winded."

Klaus swallowed hard and nodded, watched the way her breath hitched and her heart began to beat faster underneath her skin. He could feel it where he touched her back and where her entire front was lying on top of his. The air in the room thickened and Caroline's breath came in short puffs against Klaus' lips.

Energy crackled around them and Klaus felt his hands sliding up Caroline's back to thread through her blonde curls, locking his thick fingers in her hair until her held her securely in his hands.

"Klaus," she whispered as her eyes flew back to his and her lids drooped low.

With a groan, Klaus pulled Caroline's head down to his so that he could crush his lips against hers. Caroline quickly obliged at the feeling of his mouth on hers and she quietly moaned, wrapping her own fingers around his wrist.

There was nothing quite as exceptional as the feeling of Klaus' lips on hers, Caroline thought. She could taste the mint of his toothpaste and also the coffee he must have drank at breakfast that morning.

Caroline tilted her head and relished on the silky feeling of Klaus' lips pressed against hers and the way his hands touched her. The fingers on one hand were wrapped in her hair and simultaneously rubbing her scalp, putting her in a trance and making her melt against him. Caroline opened her lips slightly and felt Klaus' tongue as it slipped past her lips and rubbed against her own, shutting down her brain and turning her into a puddle.

Klaus felt Caroline go lax and he moaned gently against her mouth, holding her tightly and quickly, without putting pressure on her injuries, flipping the two of them over. He put her on her back and let one of his hands slide down her ribs to wrap around her back where he knew she wasn't injured, pulling her harder against him.

Klaus and Caroline's tongues battled against each other until Caroline let Klaus have control for a moment. She wrapped one leg over his hip and felt him press against her where she was becoming warm and a large moan ripped from her lips as she ripped her mouth from his.

"Oh, god," she groaned, brain turning to mush as Klaus' lips traveled down her jawline to gently suck on her neck. "Oh my god."

Klaus pulled away from Caroline's skin and rested his forehead against hers, breathing hard. His eyes slowly opened and he stared down at Caroline's flushed face, red, open lips, and listened to her shallow breathing. Her eyes opened and their blue eyes met as their breathing aligned.

"Hi," she whispered.

Klaus swallowed and grinned slightly. "Hello."

Something had changed – something very important. Their relationship had changed and Caroline didn't know what to do – how to react. Caroline opened her mouth to break the silence when a deafening crash echoed throughout the apartment and glass rained down on the two of them.

Klaus reacted quickly, covering her entire body with his to shield her from the onslaught. "Don't move," he ordered. "Don't move at all."

Caroline burrowed into Klaus' chest and felt the mood slip away quickly, replaced by terror and confusion. She'd been drunk by his kisses only to be slapped into sobriety. The sound of tires on pavement filled her ears until they were ringing and Klaus was lifting himself off of her body, pushing himself away and moving the hair out of her face. His hands traveled over his body to check for new injuries and he was breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly with a terrified voice. "Are you hurt? Caroline, talk to me."

Caroline was fine – more concerned for Klaus because of the way he was reacting. She knew she was okay and that what happened was over, but Klaus seemed to be in shock. His face was pale and he was shaking as his fingers ghosted over her skin.

"I'm okay," she whispered, reaching up to cup his cheek on her hand. He was cold as ice. "Are you all right, Klaus?"

Klaus swallowed and closed his eyes, relishing in Caroline's warmth. The sound of crashing glass and the raining of broken shards hitting the ground brought back uncomfortable memories of crunching metal, shattering glass, the sound of hot tires of the ground and the smell of burnt rubber in his nostrils.

He was going into shock when he needed to protect Caroline.

His Caroline.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, pushing himself away. He looked up at the carnage and saw a brick wrapped in brown paper sitting only a few inches away from Caroline's head. There was writing on the paper and Klaus reached for it while pulling Caroline up to a sitting position with his other hand. He pulled her into his side and peeled off the paper, reading the note that was on the brick.

**Don't think I've forgotten about you, Caroline. You're not going to do this movie. You're going back to where you came from – whether it's on a plane or in a body bag. Xoxo!**

* * *

**Please read and review! I'm created a rough outline for the rest of the story so hopefully the updates will come more frequently! Please follow me on tumblr - my username is accola-holic! Thank you all so much!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I happened to take notice of the playlist I listened to this chapter! Here it is:**

_Kill Everybody - Skrillex_  
_Baba O'Riley - The Who_  
_Settle Down - No Doubt_  
_Funhouse - P!nk_  
_I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift_  
_I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons_  
_Waiting for My Ruca - Sublime_  
_Pop That - French Montana_  
_Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men_  
_Home - Philip Phillips_  
_It's Time - Imagine Dragons_  
_Electric Feel - MGMT_  
_We're Far Enough From Heaven Now We Can FREAK OUT - Deep Cotton_

* * *

Klaus stared at the parchment covered brick and felt his face turn red with rage. This person had attacked Caroline again. This time, he had attacked her at her house! There could have been serious damage done had Klaus not been there when things happened.

He quickly jumped up from the floor and tripped over his feet to look out the broken window at the street. The car was long gone by the time he made it to the glass and he punched the wall beside the window.

"Dammit!" he yelled harshly. "They're gone."

"What happened!?" Bonnie screeched as she slid to a halt just inside the door of the living room. Her eyes immediately shot to Caroline lying on the floor and staring at Klaus, leaning up slightly and resting on her elbow. "Caroline?"

Caroline's shocked blue eyes shifted to Bonnie and she shook her head. "I honestly have no idea."

Pushing away from the window, Klaus went back to Caroline and wrapped his arms around her waist to hoist her off of the floor until she was standing on her feet. Without thinking, he pushed her hair out of her face and licked his lips, pulling away from her once he was satisfied with his work.

"Caroline's attacker paid another visit," he told Bonnie, quietly.

He quickly bent down to retrieve the brick when Caroline snatched it from his hands to read the letter. Part of him wanted to take it right back and to shield her from it, but the other part of him knew he shouldn't.

"What's it say?" Bonnie whispered.

Caroline cleared her throat angrily and Klaus watched her eyes go deadpan. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, Caroline. You're not going to do this movie. You're going back to where you came from – whether it's on a plane or in a body bag. Xoxo."

Bonnie gasped and tears clouded her eyes. She brought her hand to her lips and shook her head in confusion, taking a step away from Klaus and Caroline.

"This is getting ridiculous," she cried. "They know where we live! They _know_, Caroline! What if they break in!? What if they kill one of us!?"

Caroline swallowed hard and stared at Bonnie resolutely, not emotion in her eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and tossed the brick onto the couch to cross her arms underneath her breasts. "I'm not letting this scare me away, Bonnie. There has to be a way for the cops to find out who is doing this. They're leaving clues! They just threw a brick through our damn window! That's a giant clue, right there. They'll get caught, Bon," she said, pleadingly. She stepped forward to cup Bonnie's cheeks. "We'll be okay."

Klaus watched Caroline calm Bonnie down and he took that time to relish in the tingles spreading from his lips all the way to his ears. He finally thought and appreciated the kiss he and Caroline had shared mere moments before chaos broke loose and things changed once again. It seemed to be a good day for life to be altered, Klaus thought.

Staring at Caroline, Klaus sat on the couch and pulled out his cellphone to check messages and send a quick text message to Alaric.

_Hey_, he typed. _At Caroline's – there's been another attack. We'll tell you about it tomorrow after we call the police. Spending the night here for protection. I'll let you know more soon._

Klaus turned off his phone and slid the device into his pocket as Bonnie left the room to wipe the tears off of her face. Caroline sighed deeply and fell onto the couch beside him with a flourish of flying pillows and blonde hair. She stared up at the ceiling and threw caustic glances towards the broken window, a deep groan coming from her throat and emanating through the room.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Klaus asked, quietly.

Caroline turned her icy blue eyes to him and she licked her lips before blowing a breath through them. "I'm not sure. Everything happened to fast now I'm just sort of processing. So – uhh – gimme a second."

Klaus chuckled quietly and cleared his throat to hide it, turning his face away from Caroline so she wouldn't see his grin. She was cheeky and he liked it.

"You're not going to – uhh – you're not gonna' be a douche anymore, are you?"

Klaus' head whipped to Caroline and his mouth fell open. "Excuse me?"

Caroline huffed and threw her hands in the air. "I didn't mean that as bad as it sounded. You just – you act nice to me for like… a day and then _bam_; you're back to your mean self."

He smiled, swallowing. "Don't worry about that."

Before she could respond, Klaus wrapped his palm around the back of Caroline's neck and pulled her towards him. She was a little resistant at first but then his lips landed on hers and she melted against him. The palm of her hand slid up his chest to go around his neck and settle over his shoulders while her other hand did the same, working to push them closer together.

Klaus tilted his head slightly and paid attention to the softness of her lips and the fact that she tasted like sunshine. He groaned deep in his throat and hauled her into his lap, falling back so she was on top of him. She squealed slightly but followed through, lying on his stomach to kiss him harder.

She could feel his lips turn up into a smile at her actions and she inwardly cheered for herself, a small praise for her courage.

Who was she? She asked herself silently as she felt Klaus' hands fall to her hips, holding her in place. This was so unlike her! She wanted to be strong and not give in to Klaus, but it was so hard! He made her feel something inside of herself that she hadn't known she could feel.

Klaus didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know why he was doing this or why he let himself fall into a trap he'd put himself beside. He couldn't do this.

Yes, he could.

Caroline pulled away just as Klaus opened his lips against hers and she sucked in a breath, cooling off her heated face and giving much needed air to her burning lungs. Klaus did the same, allowing his head to fall backwards as his eyes closed.

"I certainly enjoy doing that," he murmured, smiling.

Caroline laughed breathlessly and let her head fall forward until she tucked herself into Klaus' neck. "I'm a fan."

"I think - ," he took a breath. " – I'm going to stay here tonight – _on the couch_. You and Bonnie need some sort of protection and it won't hurt me to be out of my place for the night. I'm sure Kol can fend for himself."

Caroline lifted her head and raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

Klaus nodded, desperately trying not to read more into the kisses they'd been sharing at the emotion that was swimming in her crystal clear eyes.

"I'm sure."

* * *

Bonnie parked her car outside of the Starbucks a few blocks away from her apartment and walked the short distance inside. She stepped in a small puddle just in front of the door and cursed under her breath as the ice cold water seeped into her sandal and her skin became wet.

"Are you all right?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

She whirled around – immediately on defense – and nearly laughed at herself. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little water."

Kol grinned and threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling the door open. "After you, M'Lady."

She chuckled and walked through the door into the coffee house with Kol just behind her, his presence wrapping around her like a security blanket. She instantly felt better knowing he was there with her.

"I'm glad you agreed to coming on this date with me," he said with a smile. "I was a little worried you'd object."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Why? Haven't I been really obvious with the fact that I like you?"

"No," he laughed, surprised. "Not as obvious as you'd think."

She shrugged and walked up to the counter, pulling out her wallet. "Hello, I'd like a small coffee please."

She was reaching into her wallet for a few crumpled up dollar bills when Kol slid in front of the counter beside her and gently let his hand fall on top of her money. "I don't go Dutch. May I buy your coffee?"

Bonnie stilled and cocked her head. "Are you sure?"

Kol, as much as he would hate the comparison, smirked like his brother. "I'm sure."

Bonnie put her money back into her wallet and slipped the wallet back into her purse. Kol ordered his drink and handed the barista a handful of bills, grasping Bonnie's elbow in his hand to steer her in the direction of a small table in the back of the coffee house. She sat opposite him and smiled as he went to retrieve their coffees, a jovial grin on his face.

"Here you are." He placed her coffee in front of her. "Do you need anything added to it?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Nope."

Kol nodded and grinned, dropping into the seat across from her. He took a timid sip of his drink and the two of them played a silent staring game as they enjoyed the first delicious drinks of their coffee. Bonnie swallowed and put her cup on the table as Kol matched her, licking his lips.

"How's everything been going at the apartment?" Kol asked. "Klaus called and told me there have been more things happening."

Bonnie went pale and she sighed shakily, shrugging. "I honestly don't know. Things are getting worse but Caroline is trying to stay strong – so I'm staying strong, too. She's such a fighter and I want to be there for her. We're going to the police tomorrow about the brick because honestly, by the time any of us reacted to it, they were long gone. There will be prints on the brick, probably, but the prints from the package earlier this month didn't prove anything. I don't know what to do."

She dropped her head into her hands and sighed deeply. Kol reached forward and grasped one of her hands in his, making her look into his eyes.

"You're going to be okay," he said, sternly.

It only took the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice for Bonnie to instantaneously feel better, but not only that – she believed him.

* * *

Elena parked in front of the quaint two story house and rushed into the shadows, appearing at the front door. She knocked lightly and was scooped inside by hands going underneath her armpits. She squealed quietly and grinned as Elijah picked her up and spun her around, planting a chaste kiss on her waiting lips.

"I thought you'd never arrive," he whispered against her mouth. "You're a temptress."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes, smoothing back his crazed brown spikey hair. "You're just impatient, Elijah – but I'm here. Now, are you going to feed me or…?"

Elijah rolled his eyes and let Elena fall gently to her feet, grabbing her hand as he passed and dragging her through the living room to his large kitchen. She was always impressed by his kitchen: incredibly state of the art, modern appliances with vast marble countertops and cherry hardwood flooring. It was an incredibly beautiful room that she was grateful for getting to cook in.

But she was the guest this evening and her man was cooking for _her_.

"I think you're going to like what I've made you," Elijah said as he bent in front of the oven and produced a baking dish. "A little birdy told me that it's your favorite."

The delicious aroma hit her nose and she groaned in pleasure. "Chicken parmesan!"

Elijah grinned and set the food on a hot plate, not letting the hot glass burn anything. "I hope this means you'll like it."

"Mm," she murmured, dropping out of the barstool she'd sat in and walking around the island. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a hot, open mouthed kiss on Elijah's mouth, biting down on his bottom lip.

He was the only person who ever saw her like this, and vice versa.

"Oh trust me, I like it already."

* * *

Alaric was sitting in front of his computer and sorting through files when his front door flew open and Jenna rushed inside, closing it behind her. He stared at her in surprise and watched as she dropped shopping bag upon shopping bag onto the floor, sighing heavily. He grinned and shook his head, turning back to his computer to continue through files.

"The mall was ridiculous," Jenna groaned as she walked to the computer chair and threw her arms over Ric's shoulders. She buried her nose in his neck and kissed his skin, relishing in the heat of him and the smell of his shirt. "I'm glad to be home."

Ric smiled and kissed her temple, breathing deeply. "I'm glad to have you home."

* * *

**Please review and follow me on Tumblr for updates and sneak peaks! My username is accola-holic!**


	12. Chapter 12

Ric was sitting in his director's trailer when Caroline knocked on the door and poked her head into the small opening.

"Hello!" Ric greeted her, swiveling around in his chair to look at her. "Come on in."

She opened the door wider and stepped inside, shutting it behind her and quietly taking a seat on the chair beside Ric. She sighed deeply and shoved her hand inside the front pouch of her sweatshirt to produce the note she'd received the day before.

"This is the note," she said, handing it to him. "There's not much to go by, but I figured you'd want to see it before I give it to the cops today."

Ric handled the note carefully so as to not smudge the writing or to crease it any more than it already was. He hummed deep in his throat and nodded, pursing his lips.

"There's a pattern; can you tell?" he asked her quietly, pointing to the paper.

"The movie," she said gravely. "It's about the movie."

Ric nodded and swung back around in his chair to face his laptop. "Exactly. The only thing I can think to check is the list of other women who auditioned for your role."

Caroline stared. "Does this sort of thing happen during every movie?"

"Not that I know of. This could be a first, especially that the police have ever seen. I'll do a quick run through of the names and see if I can come up with anything. I'll also send the list to the police and they can do with it what they will. Don't worry, Caroline." He turned around to face her. "They won't hurt you anymore. We'll catch them."

She smiled kindly. "I'm not worried, Ric. They've already done what they could and I'm still here – still making the movie. They can't keep me from doing this. Did Elena talk to you about shooting some scenes?"

"Yes, I think it's a good idea. Your bruising is just perfect for the couple of scenes that we would need Remy to be injured and I think you can manage that. Anything that needs to be done that appears too strenuous will be done by a stunt double, anyway. We can start shooting today, if you like. Everything is set up."

Caroline nodded happily. "I'd really like that. I'll be in my trailer getting ready."

She stood and left him smiling behind her, her back the last thing he could see before his door closed once again. Ric turned back to his computer and set to going through the list of actresses who sent him resumes and had auditioned for the role of Remy. There were only a few, Caroline being one of 3. Since he was a new producer, not a lot of people knew about it enough to audition.

He wrote down the names of the woman and paper clipped the names to the note, folding both papers twice before putting them in his wallet. Ric stood from his chair, switched off his desk light, and left his trailer to walk to his car. He was going to hand deliver the note and names, hoping to have a sit down chat with the lead police officer on the case. He had some suspicions about who could possibly be the culprit and he was dead set on letting the cops know.

* * *

Caroline was putting on lip gloss when her trailer door opened and shut, locking her in with Klaus standing against the door. He was staring at her reflection in the mirror and she smiled, cocking her head to the side. Blonde curls fell down from her shoulder to poll in the crook of her elbow and she ran a brush through them, smoothing them until they shone.

"Hey," she greeted him with a smile.

Klaus smiled back timidly, his eyes falling to the floor. Seeing Caroline made him feel nervous. Sure, he'd spent the night on her couch last night – but that was purely for his safety and security.

"Hello," he replied, licking his lips. "How did you sleep?"

Klaus had also managed to disappear the moment the sun had risen – returning to his apartment where he found a sleeping Kol lying on the couch. Poor kid was all tuckered out from his date that night, he hadn't even made it to his room. According to the doorman at the front of the building, Kol hadn't even stumbled in until roughly three in the morning.

Coincidentally, Bonnie hadn't returned until that same time.

"I slept fine." She finished brushing her hair and turned around to face him. "Was a little surprised to see the couch empty this morning, though. When did you leave?"

"Around sunrise," he admitted awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I needed to make sure Kol hadn't destroyed the apartment and I also wanted to be showered and ready to start the day."

Caroline grinned. "You act like Kol is a puppy. Besides, he was on a date last night."

Klaus' mouth dropped open slightly and he looked at her sideways. "How did you know that?"

"Because he was on a date with Bonnie, that's how."

_Well, that makes sense_, Klaus thought.

"Nothing happened after you left, either. No surprise visits or anything. It was pretty quiet and I left before Bonnie woke up so everything is fine. I'm sorry if staying over was weird."

Klaus shook his head in confusion. "It wasn't weird. I just – I'm not used to waking up in a home that isn't mine."

She nodded. "I understand. Anyway, Ric said we can shoot some scenes today."

"But – but what about your injuries? You don't want to upset your bruises, do you?"

"Might as well use them to my advantage while I have them. There are some scenes toward the end of the movie where Remy has bruises and I have the ones that she would have so…we're shooting some. If we put shooting off any longer, this person has _won_, Klaus. I refuse to let that happen."

Klaus swallowed hard. "Fine. I'll be in my trailer to get ready."

He turned and walked out of her trailer, slamming the door behind him. Caroline stared after him in surprise and let a watery sigh break from her lips, her annoyance showing. Why would he kiss the breath from her one day and treat her like this the next? He was a giant ball of confusion and bipolar disorder.

There was something underneath that incredibly attractive yet constantly sulking exterior. She wanted to get to know him – wanted to know what he was like, but he wouldn't let her. He would show her glances of his true self but them cover them back up with a thick brick wall that no one could possibly get through.

Something inside of him made trust a 5 letter word and nearly impossible to achieve – but that's exactly what she planned to do. She planned to get him to trust her, even if her heart broke in the process.

* * *

Caroline was standing waist deep in water as more rushed in around her. Her blonde hair was matted to her face and sticking to her skin as she surged through the flood around her and burst through the broken front doors of Woodstock Corps.

"Dani!" she screamed, searching for her friend.

There was no answer and so she continued her frantic search, small slices of her skin opening and running rivulets of blood down her cheeks. The broken glass from the shattered walls of Woodstock continued to rain down around her as pedestrians and students rushed around her, screaming, searching for their loved ones. Bodies floated around her and washed around corners as Illusions voice vibrated through the smashed building.

"_You're losing, Remy_," he whispered darkly, chuckling. "_You're always losing_."

"No!" She continued pushing through the water until she reached the room she had been locked in once the wall of water had slammed into the building. "You're lying! I haven't lost anything!"

"_Oh? Then where is your family?"_

A lump lodged in Caroline's throat and she choked on a sob.

She was still forcing her way through the water when she slammed into a chest and was sent careening backwards through the air. Thick hands wrapped around her upper arms and she was crushed against the unknown torso and pushed backwards into the wall behind her. She fought uselessly against them and finally stopped to stare into familiar sea blue eyes that were grim. Caroline felt her heart kick in her chest at the expression on Klaus' face – the face he was supposedly acting.

"Nick." Caroline's voice broke on the name, her smooth singsong voice cracking in pain. "I lost them, I lost all of them."

"Shh," Klaus soothed her, his deep voice sending sweet vibrations into her flesh and warming her bones. "We'll find them."

She pulled away and her blonde hair stuck to her cheeks, the tears locking them in place against her skin. Klaus reached forward with shaking fingers and gently plied the hair from her cheeks, tucking it behind her ears. His palm rested on her cheek and he brought their foreheads together, standing in silence as the coursing water rushed around their legs.

"Cut!" Ric called from his chair across the set. "That's was beautiful!"

Caroline slid out of Klaus' embrace and let her back rest firmly against the wall as she stared into Klaus' eyes. It was the first time she could see into them clearly – without a mask. He was completely vulnerable and open to her, his expression bare and his lips slightly open. He was breathing heavily and gazing into her eyes with a wanton expression before he swallowed hard and cocked his head.

"Hello," he whispered, a somewhat nervous smile lighting his eyes.

Caroline grinned and scrunched her nose. "Hi."

Ric appeared beside them and Caroline smiled widely at the fact that he had tears shimmering in his eyes. "You okay?"

He choked on a cough and grabbed her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad I made you Remy, Caroline. You did absolutely perfect. Thank you."

Caroline felt her heart swell in her chest and she held back her own tears as she wrapped her arms around Ric. "Thank you for casting me – and for believing in me."

Ric cleared his throat hard and stepped back, putting space between them. He clapped his palm on Klaus' shoulder and smiled at his nephew, nodding. "You did great, Klaus."

Klaus smiled a tight smile over closed teeth and cleared his own throat, stepping away. "I need to go freshen up and get out of these wet clothes."

"Right!" Ric shook his head, clearing it. "We've done enough for the day. Caroline, I'm sure you're exhausted. I'm going to take the note and the list to the police after the set closes if you want to join me."

Caroline nodded and Klaus stared at her. "I'd like to be there."

Ric nodded and left both of them standing in the same spots as he rushed from the set and out of the building to his trailer. Klaus waded through the water uncomfortably and looked at Caroline.

"You need to get dry, as well. I'll be by your trailer in half an hour if you wish. I can go with you and Ric to the police station."

Her smile was wane. "Okay."

Klaus nodded curtly and left her standing there as he exited the water filled room and then the building. She took a deep breath to steady her shaking body and felt tears clog her throat once more. He was acting entirely different than he had before and she was growing concerned that maybe she'd moved to fast in letting him kiss her on the couch – but she'd thought everything was fine! He'd been warming up to her and then he'd closed himself off. Though for those few seconds, she could see right down to his soul – and her heart ached for him.

* * *

Caroline, Klaus, and Ric were sitting in a small conference room with the Chief of police and Officer Perry with the note and the list of potential suspects lying out on the table. The Chief read over the contents for a few minutes before switching his gaze to the list, humming as he did. He was thinking over things before sharing and Caroline was getting antsy at the possibilities.

Caroline was sitting in the middle chair between Ric and Klaus – incredibly uncomfortable. Ric was oblivious to the fact that Klaus hadn't so much as touched her since he'd called cut on the last scene of the day. Klaus hadn't even looked at her – not when he showed up at her trailer door to escort her to his car, not when they walked into the building and he held the door open for her, not even when he held her seat out for her. He refused to meet her eyes and she was beginning to grow annoyed.

She wanted him to trust her – to confide in her. She wanted to know his fears and why he was acting the way he was.

She wanted to make falling in love with him feel okay – because she could tell she was.

"Well," the Chief began. "The most we can do for now is bring all of these ladies in and have them questioned. You know, see where they were – if they have alibis and all of that. We'll do background checks on each of them, as well. Don't worry, Miss Forbes – we'll get this settled."

Caroline nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Chief. I appreciate it."

Ric stood and shook the man's hand, stepping around the table. "You'll let me know when you've finished?"

Chief nodded. "Yes sir, you'll be one of the first to know. Then you can bring Miss Forbes back in and we'll sit down to speak about what we've gathered by then."

Ric hummed his approval. "Sounds good; we'll be in touch."

The three of them left the small room and they walked through the building and to the cars that were parked out front. Ric squeezed Caroline's shoulder and patted Klaus on the back before walking through the cars to where his was parked amongst them. He started the engine and drove out of the parking lot, heading towards his home.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Caroline murmured, annoyed with herself more so than Klaus.

Klaus stared at her. "You're quite welcome. Shall I take you home?"

She nodded. "Please."

She walked ahead of his the entire way to the car and opened her own door, sliding into the seat before he could even get to her side of the car. She slammed the door shut and buckled as she waited for Klaus to get into the car and do the same. She could tell he was becoming agitated as well, which only served to make her more annoyed.

They drove silently until Klaus pulled his car up to the side of house and Caroline quickly unfastened her seat belt. She reached for the door handle and Klaus' hand fell on top of hers, halting her movement.

"What?" she spat. She winced at the tone of her voice. "Sorry."

Klaus cleared his throat. "Did I upset you?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Of course not."

He sighed angrily. "That's bullshit. You've been acting odd since we left the studio."

"_I've_ been acting odd?" she whipped around in her seat to gape at him. "_Me_? Is that…is that a _joke_?"

Klaus swallowed hard. "No."

"Okay, then let me make this _easy_ for you to comprehend since you seem to have a difficulty making the truth seem _reasonable_. You've kissed me – _twice_ now. You saved my life, then went back to being a dick to me. You kissed me in my apartment and then protected me two seconds later when a _brick_ flew through the damn window. You kissed me _again_ and then slept on the couch to make sure nothing else happened. Everything was _fine_! _Then_, I wake up this morning, you're gone, and you barely even _look_ at me on set! You haven't touched me without it being in your script, you haven't met my eyes; you've barely been able to stand _near_ me without scooting over a few inches. What did I _do_!? What have I done since last night that you're disgusted by being near me!?"

She was heaving for breath by the time she'd finished, completely red in the face. Klaus stared at her on shock and Caroline watched his face shut down as her words sunk in.

"I hadn't realized my proximity and how large I chose to make it affected you so greatly," he deadpanned.

"_Ugh_!" Caroline yelled. "I can't keep doing this! I can't let myself open up to you just to have you shut down on me the next instant! Why don't you _trust_ me!?"

"Why should I trust you? I've known you for only a matter of _weeks_, Caroline! That's _nothing_!"

Caroline felt as if she'd been slapped. "I see. Well, let me know when the appropriate time rolls around so I can know when you'll start to trust me."

She moved to exit the car quickly and stopped suddenly when Klaus slammed his palms against the steering wheel, shaking the car.

"What the hell do you want me to say, Caroline!?" he roared. "You want to know why I was such an asshole to you in the beginning? Why I dislike my family and why I do the things I do? Well, I'm sorry; you're not my shrink and I refuse to burden you with a sob story of my life."

Caroline swallowed hard as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't want you to tell me as if I'm your shrink. I want you to tell me because you want to. I want to know everything about you."

Klaus glared at her with wide eyes. "For what reason?"

"Because," she choked out as she ripped the door open. "I'm falling in love with someone I know nothing about and it's killing me!"

She slammed the door and hobbled quickly to her apartment, shutting the door behind her and locking it. Sobs wracked her body and she slid down the door until he but hit the floor and she could wrap her arms around her knees. She buried her nose into her legs and cried softly, disgust for herself clouding her mind.

Klaus sat in his car in shocked silence, staring in the direction Caroline had run off in. He stared at the shut door of her apartment and felt sick to his stomach as a lump formed in his throat and made it difficult for him to breathe.

She was falling for him? How could she fall for him? He wasn't worthy of anything she could give him – of any of her love and affection. He would only hurt her.

With a disgusted growl, Klaus put the car into drive and sped back onto the street, making his way to his condo before he did something stupid like chase after her and pound on her front door.

* * *

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I listened to Ellie Goulding's new album while writing this chapter. Specifically, the songs:**

_Dead In The Water_  
_Atlantic_  
_Anything Can Happen_

* * *

Caroline and Ric were sitting in the office of the police station waiting for the Chief to come into the room. They'd both received phone calls that morning from the Chief telling them that all of the women on the list had been called and questioned, giving alibis for the police to check.

The Chief walked in and sat behind his desk with a sigh before he scrubbed his hand over his face and gritted his teeth. "So, I have good news that could also be bad news."

Caroline felt her heart sink. "They all checked out?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Each woman had a solid alibi that checked out. I'm afraid this brings a halt to the investigation because we no longer have suspects to investigate."

"What do we do now?" Ric murmured.

"I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait and see if any more threats are delivered. There haven't been any prints on the items yet, but there will be. Perps always mess up at least once – and that's all it takes. Please don't hesitate to call and let us know if anything else happens. Be safe, Miss Forbes."

Caroline and Ric left the office, both incredibly disappointed. Ric walked Caroline to her car and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to reassure her.

"Everything will work out," he said as much for himself as for her. "I promise."

Caroline smiled wanly. "I hope so."

Caroline hopped in her car and started the engine, raising the volume on the radio to listen to Mumford & Sons as the music played soothingly throughout the car. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the seat as angry tears stung her eyes and stole her breath.

She wanted to punch something. She wanted to be openly angry and yell. She wanted nothing more than to wring Klaus' neck but also to kiss him silly.

She missed him.

He hadn't talked to her since she'd angrily hopped out of his car and stormed into her apartment. She'd locked herself in her bedroom after he'd driven off and she'd cried inter pillow, more angry at herself than anything. How could she have told him that? How could she have admitted to falling for him? She felt like an idiot and could feel the pain in her heart like an arrow had pierced right through her chest.

"I'm so stupid," she groaned, slamming her head back against the head rest.

There was a light knock on her driver's side window that sent her flying forward in her seat with a quiet yelp. She stared in shock out of the window at a familiar pair of dark brown eyes and an equally familiar grin.

"Tyler?" she asked, throwing the door open.

"Care!" Tyler yelled with a smile, dragging her out of the car.

He enveloped her in a giant hug and spun her in a circle, grinning like a mad man and laughing lightly.

"It's great to see you!" he said, placing her back on her feet. "You look…well…you look good?"

She knew she was still a little bruised and broken looking, but she thought he was sweet enough to try. "I look better than I did," she chuckled. "What are you doing here?"

Tyler shrugged gently and looked at the ground. "I'm in town usually but I thought I would drop by and see how you're doing. Bonnie called me and told me that there's been some stuff happening and she wanted me to come by to see a familiar face."

"She told you?" Her smile fell. "What did she tell you?"

"Oh," he shrugged again. "Just the basics. You've got a stalker or something and they're doing some serious damage to your movie. Congrats, by the way. But yeah, she said that things are getting crazy and she's scared and wanted to see a familiar face. That's the only reason I'm here, Care – don't worry. I'm not here with some crazy idea that you'll take me back."

Caroline snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm serious. I've dropped that whole creepy ex-boyfriend thing, I promise. I have a new girlfriend." He grinned. "She's the reason I'm in town so much."

"Who?"

"Her name is Jules. She's this great girl, Care. She's beautiful and she makes me happy. I promise, I'm over us. It was a long time ago."

Caroline felt her heart pinch in her chest. "Yeah, it was."

Tyler sighed deeply through his nose and swallowed hard. "Well, I've gotta run; Jules is waiting. I'll come by soon, okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sounds good."

Tyler leaned down and planted a chaste, somewhat awkward kiss on her cheek. She smiled a tight smile and waved as he turned around and walked back to his car, hopping into the driver's seat and peeling out of the parking lot.

Seeing Tyler was not something she'd wanted at that exact moment and all Caroline _did_ want was to see Klaus.

She climbed back into her car and buckled her seatbelt, putting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot. It only took her a few short minutes to get back to her apartment and she pulled up to the side of the home, turning her car off and opening the door. She noticed another package sitting outside her door and she stopped in her tracks, staring down at the box. It looked normal for the most part, but she was still disconcerted. Having things delivered to her home was beginning to worry her.

Without touching it, she managed to scoot the box over the threshold of the door with the toe of her boot until it was in the middle of the walkway. She shut the door behind her and threw her keys into the bowl that was on the table beside her, the clanging noise drawing Bonnie out of the kitchen with Kol sharply on her heels.

"Oh," Caroline said, startled. "Hey, Kol."

Kol smiled. "Hello, Caroline. You've got a package."

Caroline looked into Bonnie's eyes and the brunettes gaze turned somber. "Who's it from?"

"I don't know." She knelt down beside the box and dropped her purse beside it while her eyes traveled over the parcel. "Doesn't seem to have a return address."

"Don't open it," Bonnie ordered, coming across the room quickly to grab Caroline's arm. "Let's call the police."

"But what if it's just a package, Bon?" Caroline questioned. "That would be pointless."

"But if it's from them, there might be a fingerprint. Klaus isn't here – he can't tell us what to do. We're calling the police."

Bonnie left the room and grabbed the cordless phone off of the table before she walked into the kitchen. Caroline stared after her and watched Kol shrug demurely before following after Bonnie, his eyes on the floor. Caroline knew that the threats and her attack were getting to Bonnie, but there wasn't anything she could do. At first, Bonnie had been proud of her for not quitting the movie, but now, Caroline was pretty sure Bonnie wanted her to flee.

There was too much going on inside of Caroline's head and she couldn't think straight. She stood off of the floor and charged into the kitchen to grab a large knife before striding back into the living room and falling down beside the package. Bonnie ran in a moment later yelling words that Caroline couldn't understand because of the blood rushing in her ears. Instead, she leaned over the package and dug the knife into the tape holding the flaps together, pulling down until the tape was entirely cut. She reached blindly for the edges of the flaps and yanked the box open to stare at the contents.

The smell hit her first: putrid and encompassing. Her eyes watered the moment she leaned over the side of the box and a sob lodged in her throat as she stared at the small dead body of the hummingbird lying delicately inside the box. It was lying on a bed of tissue papers, surrounded by petals of a white flower she couldn't identify.

"Get me gloves," she ordered Bonnie who was standing shock still just beside her with tears running down her face. "Now."

Bonnie was gone and back in a matter of seconds with two large yellow dish gloves in her hands. She gave them to Caroline with shaking fingers and Caroline slipped them on, reaching to grab the note that was stuffed beside the bird in the box. It was folded twice with her name lightly written on the front and Caroline flipped it open to glare down at the words.

"_Caroline_," she read aloud. "_You see this bird? Well, this bird is you – soft, delicate, and naïve. The bird and you have more in common than just those things – you'll both be dead because of carelessness. Sleep tight, Caroline. You'll be seeing me soon_."

Caroline was bone white and Bonnie was whimpering as Kol wrapped his arm around her. He maneuvered Bonnie to sit on the couch and lifted Caroline off of the floor to seat her in the chair, being careful to not touch the note when he took it from Caroline's hands and dropped it back into the box. Caroline watched him pick up the phone and dial the police, speaking in hushed tones until he clicked the end button and set the phone back in the tray.

"The police are on their way," he murmured as he sat beside Bonnie on the couch. "Don't worry."

"How can I not worry?" Bonnie said quietly, her tone dropping. "How can I not be angry, Kol? They killed something! That bird is dead and we're going to join it if we stay here! They haven't been caught and now they're killing things to send Caroline a message; a message she refuses to listen to! Why won't you pay attention, Caroline!?" Bonnie was shrieking now and she stood, throwing her hands in the air. "Why the hell are you being so stupid!? They're going to kill us and you're not doing shit about it!"

Caroline was numb. She could barely understand what Bonnie was staying because it felt like there were blinders over her eyes and plugs in her ears. All she could see was Bonnie run from the room and Kol followed closely behind her.

Everything happened in a blur after that. She sat and stared at the box until the cops came and then she continued to stare after they bagged up the evidence from within the parcel and took everything away. She sat through questioning giving the only answers she could until she felt like her throat was going to rip to shreds. She watched lifelessly as Bonnie came into the room with an overnight bag and walked Kol to the door, finally turning around to look at Caroline.

"I'm staying at Kol's tonight," she told her. "I need some time away. I'll call and check in."

With that, the two of them were gone and Caroline was sitting alone in her apartment as the darkness crept into the windows and drowned out the last remaining slices of sunlight. Nothing was going right in her world anymore. The only thing that brought her even the slightest shred of happiness was the idea that when everything was finished, she would star in one of the best movies of the year.

She was slowly losing her best friend, she killed any sort of relationship with Klaus even before it began, and someone wanted her dead. Everything was falling apart and Caroline was, too.

Caroline snapped back into reality when she heard quiet scratching coming from her kitchen and her heart leapt into her throat. She stood slowly and dashed behind the corner to peer around the wall into the black kitchen. She couldn't see a single thing that could possibly be making the foreign noise but she continued to stand silently, barely breathing. There had been too many things happening for the noise to be a coincidence.

Horror filled Caroline's head and she tried to take a breath but couldn't, her fear making breathing impossible. Her eyes latched on to the shadow just outside of the kitchen window in the shape of a hand that was growing closer to the doorknob, fingers wrapping around the handle. She continued to stare at the arm now pulling open the door and then a figure was stepping through the opening and into her kitchen.

It was her attacker.

Without so much as a second thought, Caroline dashed into the kitchen and ran for the knife Bonnie had left on the counter, the one she'd opened the package with. She lunged for the handle and held out the weapon in front of her just as her attacker jumped at her, knocking her sideways. The bruises on her hip flared to painful life and she cried out, thrashing around in an attempt to hit her assailant.

Strong arms wrapped around her upper body and she was hefted off of the floor and thrown across the kitchen island and over the side, crashing into the chairs around the small dining room table. She was panting from fear and sucking in harsh breaths of pain when her attacker landed on top of her and all of their weight.

One thing she could definitely tell through the haze of attack was that the attacker was not a woman, but a man. It was definitely a man.

With one of her hands pinned underneath her, Caroline used the last of her strength to bring the hand with the knife forward and straight to the man's hand. She felt the way the knife cut through his glove and right through his skin, sinking down into his muscle and through his bones. He cried out harshly and smacked her across the cheek, drawing blood from her lip.

With her new found strength, Caroline kicked out her feet and landed her aim directly into his pelvis, a small success of getting him to fall away from her. She sent lashing punches in his direction and he jumped off of the floor and fled running back towards the door to the kitchen from which he entered.

The attack was over just as quickly as it began and Caroline was left lying on the floor panting in a pool of her assailant's blood. She felt numbly in her pocket for her cellphone and pulled it out, punching the now too familiar three numbers.

"Hello, police?" she whimpered into the phone. "I need your help."

* * *

**Please review! This chapter really starts to get into the grit of things! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Caroline spent the night in the police station talking to the Chief and going over every detail of what had happened. She told him about the box and how it hadn't appeared at all threatening. She told him about how Bonnie had left, how she hadn't stopped her and it wasn't her fault, and how she watched the attacker come into the house through the kitchen door. She told him how she'd run for the knife just as the man jumped at her and how she's stabbed his hand.

She'd been re-bandaged after the assailant had opened her split lip and the on-site doctor had given her some pain medication for her aching body. Bonnie was called and was inconsolable, guilt tearing her apart. Caroline cried with her on the phone for two hours trying to get her to calm down and to believe that she wasn't angry, and it sort of worked. She'd told Kol to put Bonnie to bed and that she would see the two of them in a few days, hanging up the phone and returning to the Chief's office to finish off her questioning.

"God – I'm just so sorry, Caroline. There will be 24 hour surveillance outside of your apartment and we won't let anyone else get past us. If we see something suspicious, I'll call your cellphone and alert you. You probably shouldn't be alone, too. We're taking the blood from the scene and running it through the database, but if this guy hasn't been in the system before, he won't show up - same with the fingerprints. If you see somebody you know, anybody at all, with a bandaged hand, you tell us. Okay?"

Caroline nodded. "Okay."

The Chief stood from his seat and came around the desk, holding out his hand for her to grasp. He pulled her out of her seat and gave her a curt hug, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to walk her to the front door of the station.

"Perry!" he called behind him to the Officer. "Will you drive Miss Forbes home?"

Officer Perry came out from behind the desk with a sad smile on his face. "Of course, I'll take you home right now."

Caroline nodded and walked through the front door with her eyes on the ground when she bumped into a hard chest and stumbled backward. She felt hard hands wrap around her upper arms and then she was pulled into an equally hard chest. Her eyes immediately flew to the eyes in front of her and she felt the breath leave her lungs and tears fill her eyes.

"Klaus?" she whispered.

Klaus looked like hell. He had a 5 o'clock shadow that looked like it'd been there for days and he was in rumpled, wrinkled clothes. His eyes were bloodshot and his worry lines were more pronounced than they had been the last time she'd seen him.

"Caroline, I got here as fast as I could," he said, crushing her to him. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent, needing to make sure she was truly in his arms. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

Caroline wanted to cry with happiness but also sadness, two emotions that she couldn't quite identify the origin of. She was ecstatic and relieved to see Klaus but so stressed about the situation. She felt the tears pour from her eyes and she clung to Klaus for dear life, her fingers digging into his sweater as she burrowed into his chest.

"I'll take her home," Klaus told Officer Perry. "Thank you."

Caroline didn't hear what Officer Perry said but could feel his presence get further away as he went back into the police station. Klaus steered her still shaking body in the direction of his car and he put her into the passenger seat, quickly running around the car to get behind the driver's side. He shut the door and hauled her across the seat until she was in his lap with her face buried in his chest, his hands running up and down her back in a soothing gesture. Caroline sighed with relief for the first time in hours and she immediately became exhausted, needing sleep.

"I'm glad you're here." She closed her eyes.

Klaus hummed deep in his chest and kissed her hair, smoothing the blonde tendrils that were a tangled mess on the back of her head. "Of course, love."

He pulled back and stared into her tired blue eyes, his own eyes mirroring her deeply hidden happiness. Being back in each other's arms felt right, at least to him it did. He'd never admit it aloud, but holding Caroline was the highlight of his week. Possibly his month.

He leaned forward quickly and placed his lips on her, trapping her bottom lip between his and sucking lightly. Caroline murmured and leaned into him as their arms wrapped around each other to hold their bodies in place. Klaus tilted his head and broke their lips apart to rest his forehead against hers, breathing softly.

"Let's get you home, love," he whispered."

He ran his hands down her arms to grasp her fingers in his, pulling her in the direction of his car. The two of them were both oblivious to the darkened figure standing in the trees just a few short feet away, a large Nicon camera strapped to their hands and glued to their face. The unknown person, dressed completely in black, snapped photo after photo, catching the passionate kiss, tentative hand holding, and Klaus opening Caroline's car door for her.

The two of them drove away in Klaus' car and suddenly, there were two people standing in the trees.

"Did you get them?" a quiet, feminine voice whispered.

Tan hands gripped the camera tight within their fingers and dark lips pulled over bright white teeth. "Oh yeah."

* * *

Caroline and Klaus sat on the sofa in the living room; Caroline curled up with a cup of coffee clutched between her fingers with Klaus sitting right beside her, his thigh pushed against hers. The two of them were sitting in an un-awkward silence as the last 24 hours soaked in and Caroline felt her entire body sag with exhaustion.

She sighed, shaking her head. "My life has exploded."

"As long as nothing your inside of explodes, I'm fine."

She snorted and turned an amused grin to Klaus, finding her was smiling at her. "Cute."

Klaus' smile fell slowly and Caroline watched his eyes go from teasing to sad. He grasped the coffee from her hands and set it on the coffee table in front of him, one of his hands still holding hers. He used his strength to pull her from her cross-legged position to fall into his lap, her head lying in the crook on his neck and shoulder as he held her tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline," he whispered, voice going raspy. "I should never have treated you the way I did yesterday. I have a habit of hurting people I don't wish to and I'm afraid you were one of those people."

Caroline closed her eyes. "I just wish you trusted me. I feel like you push me away, but I'm not sure why. Do you think I'm going to hurt you, or are you afraid you're going to hurt me?"

Klaus was silent for a moment. "I will hurt you."

She froze at the certainty of his tone of voice, pulling back to gaze into his eyes. "I won't let you."

"You won't have a choice, love. I hurt everybody. I've hurt my entire family and I can never make it better. It's what I do and it's why I am the way I am; it's why I push people away from the moment I meet them until we no longer talk to each other. I always hurt people and it kills me."

"Then talk to me, because maybe, just maybe, I can help. I want to help you, Klaus. I want you to trust me and I don't want to feel bad for falling for you."

He opened his mouth to speak but she laid her finger over his lips.

"Don't make me feel bad for loving, Klaus, because I won't. I will not let you or anybody else keep me from loving something because love is one of the only emotions a person can enjoy. It hurts them, it makes them want to die, it makes them feel like the world is ending, but it also brings us the most happiness. It gives us a reason to get up in the morning and it gives the world a meaning. Don't make me feel bad for wanting that, even the bad part."

Klaus stared at Caroline in awe, his eyes dropping to her lips. "You won't feel the same when I tell you what I did."

Her heart pitter pattered in her chest. "Try me."

Klaus pulled away then, certain that she would do it if he didn't do it first. He stared deeply into her bright blue eyes, pictured the way she looked when she smiled, when she laughed. It was those thoughts that made it nearly unbearable to tell her the things he was about to tell her…but she was right. She deserved to know what she was falling for.

_Who she was falling for_.

"You've met my brothers Elijah and Kol. You've probably never heard me speak of her, but we have a sister, Rebekah. But there is one other sibling that we never speak about. Our youngest brother, Henrik…he died…and it was my fault. I killed him."

Caroline's mouth fell open slightly and her eyes opened wide. "You killed him…how?"

"I didn't murder him or something insane like that," Klaus said rapidly, shaking his head. "I might have been 16 at the oldest and I'd just gotten my driver's license. I wasn't the most experienced driver but I was legal to drive others and I'd promised mother that I would pick Henrik up from soccer practice. Father and I had gotten into an argument just as I was leaving and I was angry when I picked Henrik up. I wasn't – I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize that a car was blowing through the red light when ours was green." Klaus shook his head as tears fell from one of his eyes and slid down his cheek.

Caroline was afraid to touch him. She was too afraid to reach forward and brush the tear off of his cheek; afraid she would shatter what was clearly so close to breaking. "Please – go on."

He took a deep breath. "The truck plowed into Henrik's side of the car and we flipped. The entire passenger side was demolished and Henrik was killed. The accident wasn't considered our fault…but…oh god, I just can't stand that it happened. I'm responsible for his death, Caroline! If I'd been paying more attention – if I hadn't picked a fight with my father just before leaving – maybe he'd still be alive!"

Caroline shook her head with tearful eyes. "You couldn't have stopped that from happening. Stuff like that…it's not something that can be changed or avoided. It's fate, Klaus. Yes, losing Henrik hurt and yes, it will hurt forever, but it wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand, Caroline. You don't see the way my family looks at me now. Kol and Rebekah were 13 and Elijah was 18, but they knew it was my fault. My parents – they hate me. They think of me as the monster that killed their precious baby Henrik and I am. _I killed him_."

"Your family shouldn't blame you for it because it wasn't your fault. It happened almost 10 years ago and it couldn't have been stopped. That driver, the one who killed Henrik, it's his fault. He should feel guilty for doing it – not you. You weren't driving the car that killed him, Klaus."

Klaus stared at Caroline and watched her eyes and the way she looked at him. He truly wanted to believe what she was saying. He wanted what she was saying to be true, but it would take more than one conversation for him to look past nearly 10 years of gut wrenching guilt and sadness.

"You deserved to know that," he whispered, crying softly. "You deserved know why I can't be close to anyone."

"Yes you can. You may not think you can, but you can. I won't hurt you and I won't leave you if you hurt me – not if you don't mean to. That's what's so crazy about love and falling into it – it's nearly impossible to run away from. I'm not going to leave you, Klaus."

There was a knock on the door and Caroline jumped slightly, her heart beating quick. She swiped the tears off of her cheeks and straightened her clothes as she stood and walked across the room to open the door. Tyler was standing there smiling at her, his kind eyes looking her over as he sighed, noticing her change of clothes.

"Hey," he said quietly with a look of pity. "You doing okay?"

Klaus appeared behind Caroline's shoulder and Tyler took a step back, his eyes widening. "Whoa, you're Klaus Mikaelson! It's an honor, man!"

Tyler reached out his left hand and Klaus grasped it with his, pumping his hand twice. "Pleasure is mine."

Caroline swallowed thickly and felt the awkward tension rise around her. "What's up, Ty?"

Tyler dropped Klaus' hand and turned his gaze back to Caroline. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. I heard about what happened and I needed to see how you were holding up."

Tingles crawled up Caroline's back and she stepped backwards, closer to Klaus. "I'm fine, it's no big deal. Klaus was going to stay with me and make sure nothing else happened…so…"

"I see." Tyler smiled tightly. "Well, I have to get back to my girl anyways. I'm glad you're okay."

He turned to leave but Klaus stepped forward to put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll walk you out, mate. Be right back," he told Caroline before dropping a kiss on her temple.

Caroline watched with one eyebrow raised as Klaus walked Tyler to his car and the two of them had a friendly chat. She closed the door and grabbed her cup before walking into the kitchen and setting it in the sink.

* * *

"You're being a good friend by checking on Caroline," Klaus told Tyler as he followed him to his car. "Friend from home?"

Tyler nodded awkwardly and cleared his throat, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, friend from home."

Klaus watched Tyler reach for his driver side door with a hand that was heavily bandaged. He cocked his head and watched Tyler falter before reached for the handle with his left hand, tucking his right to his side.

"Did you hurt your hand?" Klaus asked, watching Tyler's reaction.

"Just a little work accident, no big deal. I'll see you later."

Tyler fell into the car and drove quickly away, peeling out of the street and out of the neighborhood. Klaus shrugged but kept the image in his memory bank as he walked back up the pathway and into the apartment. Caroline wasn't in the living room when he walked in so he traveled the distance to the kitchen where he found her staring out the window.

For the first time in almost a decade, Klaus' heart didn't feel heavy. It was almost as if a weight physically lifted off of his chest when he stared at Caroline, because he knew that she knew about his past. He was no longer hiding anything from her and that fact was freeing.

"Would you like me to stay again tonight?" Klaus asked her quietly so as to not startle her.

Caroline turned around and gazed at him, a small smile on her lips. "Yes, I would like that, but with one stipulation."

Klaus crossed the kitchen to her and stood just in front of her, his hands going to her shoulders to pull her to his chest. She stared up at him and bit her lip, allowing her eyes to fall to his mouth which to so hungrily wanted to kiss.

"You're not sleeping on the couch."

* * *

Please review! Did you like the chapter? :)


	15. Chapter 15

**This is a filler chapter, through and through. I changed the rating to M because this chapter includes some sexy times between Klaus and Caroline :) I just wanted to get the sex out of the way because I wanted it in the story and I needed the end to be pretty dramatic! Please don't be upset that it's so shortl the next one will be longer, I promise!**

* * *

"You want me to stay in your room?" Klaus asked Caroline with a hitch in his breathing at the idea. "You – uhh – are you sure?"

Caroline was never more sure about anything. Klaus had opened up to her. He'd opened his heart and let her inside, showing her what he was hiding and letting her see who he truly was; why he was the way he was. Caroline didn't have anything to hide, but she wanted to share herself with Klaus. She wanted to share her body with him.

She nodded and stood on her tip toes, wrapping her arms around Klaus' neck and staring deeply into his eyes. "I'm sure."

Slowly, she leaned forward until her lips were touching his, the lightest brush on her flesh on his. Klaus sucked in a breath through his teeth and he relished in the feeling of her skin on his, her body pushed flush against his own. Her breasts were against his chest and he could feel the influx in her heartbeats as her body became aware of his.

"Caroline," he murmured, only for her to shush him.

"No," she interrupted. She pulled back and bit her hip, blue eyes searching blue. "Let me do this."

Caroline grabbed Klaus' hands then, bringing her towards her as she began to back up. She knew the layout of her apartment like the back of her hand and she wound her way through the kitchen and into the hallway, down to the end of the hallway where her bedroom door was pushed open. Klaus swallowed hard and watched as Caroline grinned at him, bringing his hands to her hips.

Klaus clenched his teeth and stared hungrily as Caroline gripped the hem of her shirt and brought the material over her stomach, exposing the creamy skin underneath. She was trim and beautiful, making his mouth water as he watched her. Her eyes glowed dark blue as she reached for his own shirt, pulling up the black cotton up and over his chest, which was covered in a thin layer of fine blonde curls that started on his pectorals and followed a thin path to travel underneath the button of his pants.

"So much better in person," Caroline whispered, shaking her head. "Movies don't do you justice, Mikaelson."

Klaus grinned mischievously and gripped Caroline's shoulders in his hands, bringing her up on her toes. Her eyes widened to saucers and she stared in shock as Klaus ran his nose from her temple all the way down to her jawline, letting his lips run down her skin and his teeth reach out to nip at her flesh. Caroline shivered as gooseflesh rose on her arms and stomach, her exposed skin growing aware of his traveling fingers.

"You're beautiful," he told her softly, fingers dipping down from her shoulders to her arms, around her back, and to her front where they ran lightly across her skin. "You're so soft."

Caroline could barely swallow, let alone breathe. She felt like her chest was going to explode and her face felt on fire, but she was as content as could be.

She splayed her palms open wide on Klaus' chest and ran her fingers through his curls, scratching his skin with her blunt fingernails. She looked up into his hooded eyes and ran her hand up his chest and neck until her hands threaded in his thick blonde locks and she yanked his head down to hers.

Their kiss was all tongues and teeth, the easy going foreplay thrown out the window as the stress from the last few days built in her heart and she needed something to distract her. She wanted to feel Klaus, all around her and inside of her. She wanted to breathe in his scent and she wanted to know what he felt like.

Klaus couldn't get enough of Caroline's skin. She was as soft as he could ever have imagined and she tasted like strawberries. Her blonde hair wound around his hands and tickled his face as she pushed him backward onto her bed and she fell over him, straddling his hips as she kissed his face.

Everything passed in a sensuous blur of pleasure and gut wrenching happiness. Caroline felt her heart expand as she took Klaus inside of her body and Klaus froze, a new feeling he'd never encountered rushing into his mind and into his heart. He felt the way his heart began to beat erratically, the scent of Caroline winding around him and infiltrating his blood stream as she moved on top of him.

He gripped her hips tightly in his hands, bruising her skin and marking her as his own. He pushed her and pulled, bringing her down to him to plant bruising kisses on her bright red lips, biting gently so as to not let her slip away from him.

The pace increased suddenly and Klaus was drowning in pleasure. He opened his eyes to watch Caroline's face as her eyes slid open and she stared down at him. He watched pleasure swirl in her orbs and her breathing began to hitch, her body shaking on top of his. He ground his hips into hers and threw his head back, groaning loudly at the feeling of Caroline's body losing control over his.

Caroline didn't know what she yelled out when she felt herself explode with pleasure. She remembered her world going white and she felt the greatest pleasure she could ever remember having, her fingers and entire body spasming as she lost herself in the tremendous pressure growing in her belly.

Caroline fell forward against Klaus' chest and his arms came around her, pulling her up until he could flip them both onto their sides. He pulled Caroline back against his chest and threw one leg over hers, wrapping his arm around her stomach and burying his nose in her neck and hair. He was sated completely, and as far as he could tell, Caroline herself had passed out.

Taking one last deep breath, Klaus succumbed to sleep with Caroline deeply snuggled in his embrace, their heartbeats matching in sleep.

* * *

He watched them fall asleep, their faces relaxed and blissfully content in their after sex glow. He grinned, his bright white teeth shining through the ski mask he'd donned before hopping out of his car to sleuth up the side of Caroline's apartment. Disgust crawled up his spine as he watched them sleep, completely lost in each other.

He'd wanted to vomit when they'd been fucking; his disgust for them separately growing as they joined each other.

Green eyes stared down at the screen on his camera as he flicked through the recently taken pictures, his grin lighting brighter at the pictures he'd taken of their time together.

Threats against her life clearly weren't enough for Caroline, he thought. So he would do whatever he could to make Klaus hate her.

* * *

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Playlist for chapter 16:**

_A Night Like This, __Absolutely Me, __Back It Up, __Dr. Wanna Do, __I Know That He's Mine, __Just One Dance, __Stuck, __That Man - Album Edit, __The Lipstick On His Collar, __The Other Woman,_ _You Don't Love Me - **Caro Emerald**_

_The A Team, __Drunk, __U.N.I., __Grade 8,_ _Wake Me Up_, _Small Bump_, _This_, _The City, __Lego House,_ _You Need Me, I Don't Need You_, _Kiss Me, G__ive Me Love - **Ed Sheeran **_

* * *

Caroline was warm when she opened her eyes and stared at the sun blaring through the curtains on the window. She was warm inside and out – a feeling she wasn't accustomed to. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose, sucking in the glorious scent of hot skin and sultry memories.

She opened her eyes again and allowed them to travel up lightly tanned skin covered in a fine layer of blonde curls, Klaus' chest rising and falling slowly in slumber. Caroline swallowed hard and she stared at Klaus' profile as he slept, at his boyish features only more young as he slept.

His usually anxious brow was flattened and relaxed, the worry wrinkles around his eyes gone and smooth. His eyes were passing underneath his eyelids rapidly as he dreamt and Caroline smiled, snuggling closer to him. She could feel his heart beating underneath his skin and she relished in the feeling of his flesh against hers, nothing separating them.

Part of her brain was yelling at her for sleeping with him while the other part of her brain was congratulating her on finally letting him in. She couldn't argue and say she hadn't enjoyed herself, and by his reactions to her before they fell asleep, Caroline assumed he'd had a good time, as well.

She sighed and lay her head back down on his chest, hooking her leg over his and she remembered the details of the night before. Burning tendrils of arousal wound in her belly and she grinned, placing chaste, soft kisses against the skin of Klaus' chest.

Klaus murmured i his sleep and he smiled, opening his eyes. "Good morning, love."

Caroline smiled, too, leaning up on her elbow. She stared into his glazed blue eyes and leaned forward to lightly press her lips against his, sealing their mouths together as she moved to lie on top of him. He groaned deep in his throat and his hands went to her hips, his grip keeping her in place as she smiled bigger.

"Well, then," he said breathlessly, a laugh barely escaping his lips. "Someone's happy to see me."

"You have no idea."

Klaus pulled Caroline's lips back down to his and flipped them over, pinning her beneath him as his mouth ravaged hers. He ripped away from her only to plant open mouthed kisses on her cheek, traveling down her jawline until he latched onto the skin of her neck. She threw her head back and started to rock back and forth; gasping at the friction she was creating.

Klaus covered her mouth with his once more and they lost themselves in each other, the suffocating thickness to the air in the room, and the way the sunlight shone off of the sheen of sweat coating their bodies.

* * *

Caroline woke a few short hours later to the incessant ringing of her cellphone as it buzzed loudly in the pocket of her jeans she'd discarded the evening before. She slid out of bed and crawled across the room to where her jeans lay in a rumpled pile on the floor, her fingers searching for the ringing phone until she could feel it. She yanked it out of the pile and pressed answer as she brought it to her ear and collapsed on the clothes.

"Hello?" she groaned, sighing deeply.

"Caroline, I have bad news," Alaric said darkly, his voice calm but his tone betraying him. "Are you with Klaus?"

Caroline sat up quickly and saw that Klaus was still deeply asleep, his arm thrown over his eyes to shield them from the sun.

"Yes, he's sleeping. What's going on?"

She stood from the floor and grabbed the throw blanket that had fallen off of the end of the bed, wrapping the fabric around herself as she walked out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. She went to the cabinet with coffee and coffee filters, preparing her source of energy before she had to wake up Klaus and tell him whatever Ric was about to share with her.

"I need you to relax, okay?"

"Ric," she stopped him. "You're freaking me out; just tell me what's going on."

Ric sighed. "The newspapers this morning are about you and Klaus."

"So?"

"About how he saved you after your attack and about your relationship."

"…So?"

Ric sighed again. "There are pictures of – ahem – of you guys…uhhh…."

Caroline blanched and dropped the bag of coffee on the counter. "You're not trying to tell me that there are pictures of Klaus and me kissing in the newspaper."

Ric laughed humorlessly. "You're faith in the world is actually adorable, but no, that's not what I'm trying to tell you. I'm trying to tell you that there are pictures of you two, actually – the pictures are blurry, but they're of the two of you having sex. In your bed."

Caroline couldn't breathe. She felt her knees buckle from underneath her and she crashed to the floor, spilling coffee everywhere. She fell back against the cupboard and covered her face with her hands as hot tears spilled down over her cheeks and she choked for air.

"You're joking."

"Caroline?"

Caroline's head whipped up to see Klaus standing in the doorway of the kitchen, his expression worried. He noticed her pale face and tears immediately, dropping down beside her to grasp the phone in her hands. "Who is this?"

His face relaxed when he recognized Ric's voice and his hands checked Caroline for injuries, not finding any. He sat down beside her and allowed her to crawl into his arms and bury her nose in the fabric of the shirt he'd pulled on before he left her bedroom. They were quite the picture, she was sure; he in boxers and a t-shirt while she sat wrapped in a throw blanket, completely naked underneath it.

"I see," Klaus said; his voice hard. He'd gone rigid and Caroline felt her heart break in her chest.

He was going to blame her somehow. His trust issues were going to make him distrust her.

He hung up the phone and slid it onto the counter, pulling away from Caroline to look into her eyes. He smoothed away the tears on her cheeks and kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent.

"Whatever their aim was," he began, gruffly. "They're failing. I'm angry with them, love, not you. I know you think I am, but I'm not. I don't think you did this and I'm going to find out who did this."

Caroline tilted her head to gaze at him. "How did you know I was thinking that?"

Klaus sighed. "I know you."

She tried to smile but she couldn't, the fact that there were pictures of her and Klaus having sex in the newspaper infiltrating her mind and driving her crazy. Klaus lightly kissed her lips and she sighed, feeling silly for having created such a commotion.

"Sorry I scared you," she murmured, gesturing towards the coffee beans all over the floor. "I made a mess. I was going to make you coffee but I spilled it everywhere."

Klaus rolled his eyes in amusement and scooped her off of the floor, gathering her in his arms and kissing her forehead. "Get real clothes on and let's go get some coffee. We're not hiding from the world because they know about us. This person obviously wants you to feel like you have to hide and not go out and show yourself, so you do the opposite. Show them who's in charge."

Caroline raised her eyebrows and grinned. "Seems like you're the one in charge, Mikaelson."

Klaus' eyes darkened and he swatted at her behind as she turned to leave the room. "Better believe it, Forbes."

* * *

When Caroline returned home from getting coffee with Klaus, Bonnie was sitting in the kitchen on the floor, scooping coffee beans into her hands and tossing them back into the coffee bean bag. She looked up from her spot on the floor and she raised an inquisitor eyebrow.

"What happened to the coffee?"

Caroline's smile was embarrassed as her face heated in a blush. "Well, okay, so – I'm sure you've seen the papers."

"Yes, I saw the papers today and I must say, you're incredibly lucky we do Pilates three times a week. Klaus, on the other hand, is gorgeous."

"Yeah, well, Ric called to tell me about it this morning and I was holding the coffee beans and then I – uhh – well then I _wasn't_."

Bonnie nodded sadly, standing from the floor with the last of the coffee beans. She deposited them in the bag and then quickly crossed the kitchen to envelop Caroline in her arms, a sigh escaping her lips.

"I'm so sorry, Care. I haven't here for you and you needed me. I won't ever leave you again."

Caroline smiled and hugged Bonnie back. "Don't put your life on hold because of me, Bon. I want you to be happy and I know this is stressful for you, too. You could be hurt just as much as I could."

"I'm not worried about being hurt," Bonnie argued, pulling away slightly. "I'm worried that you're going to get hurt really bad and I won't be able to do anything about it. I'm worried the police won't find this asshole and that we'll be afraid all of the time. You _know_ they did this, right? They put the pictures in the newspaper."

Caroline nodded. "Makes the most sense."

"I'm afraid for you, Care; I love you so much and I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me, Bonnie. We're going to beat this person, but I'm beginning to think the police have no idea what they're doing and I'll have to do this myself."

Bonnie pulled away again and cocked her head. "What do you have in mind?"

Caroline grabbed Bonnie's hand and led her through the kitchen to the living room where both girls fell onto the couch cushions and curled their legs underneath themselves.

"The police haven't found anything, which is weird. Shouldn't they have found _something_ by now? It's been over a month and they still don't even have a fingerprint. Not a single clue. Why is that?"

Bonnie was intrigued. "Do you think they're working together? The cops and this person?"

"No," Caroline said, shaking her head. "I just think that they're not concerned about a newbie actress who got herself a stalker. They're not taking it seriously even though they say they are. No one, other than me and that poor hummingbird, have been hurt."

"Not physically, anyway," Bonnie grumbled, crossing her arms.

"We need to figure out who it is and I think I have an idea."

"Who do you think it is?" Bonnie asked.

"Don't you think it's a little weird that Tyler got here around the same time that it happened?"

"He wasn't here for the attack."

"I wasn't attacked by a man. Who is Tyler dating?"

Bonnie stared at Caroline with wide eyes. "Jules."

"Exactly," Caroline whispered, feeling her heart plummet to her stomach. "And the man didn't break in until Tyler was already in town."

"Okay, okay, let's think about this rationally. Why would Tyler do this? No, why would _Jules_ do this?"

"I don't know. She could have auditioned for the role?"

Bonnie scoffed. "Didn't you read the list of names of the women who auditioned?"

Caroline looked at Bonnie guiltily. "No."

"Then it might be her." Bonnie scratched her scalp lightly, thinking. "She'd have to be incredibly vengeful to do all of this to you. She tried to kill you. The only thing is that I don't understand why Tyler would help or how he could? You two loved each other and now - "

"Now I'm in love with someone else," Caroline interrupted her, shaking her head. "I'm in love with Klaus and it's been since I got the part in the movie and met Klaus that this shit has been happening to me."

Bonnie was shocked silently.

"I have to go to her apartment," Caroline said quickly. "I have to do it now when it's still daylight and I'll ask for Tyler if he doesn't answer."

"Caroline, what if you get hurt…."

"It's broad daylight and Tyler told me to drop by to see him."

"He did?"

Caroline grinned. "No, but I can pretend he did."

"I don't know about this." Bonnie shook her head. "You could get hurt even though it's broad daylight."

"I have to do this," she said, voice full of resolve. "The police haven't put it together and we have. I don't want to call them and tell them because the chances of them believing me are slim."

"Why's that?"

Caroline sighed dramatically. "I've gone through '_serious trauma'_ in the last few days."

Bonnie sighed, matching her dramatics. "I see. Well…looks like you're going to Jules'."

* * *

Caroline walked up the walkway to Jules' apartment and sighed nervously, eyes searching the windows for any sign of being watched. She swallowed thickly and felt her heart kick to life in her chest as her fear settled in and she was struck with the instinct to run.

Caroline wasn't one to ignore her instincts, but she wanted to end this. She needed to show this person who was in charge and she had to take charge of her fears first.

She knocked on the wooden door three times with her knuckles, tucking them back into her pocket as the chill from the air settled into her jacket and made her shiver. She waited for a beat and then the door was yanked open to reveal Mason Lockwood, Tyler's older uncle. He smiled at her and Caroline felt herself relax, his calm green eyes greeting her.

"Caroline," he said, reaching to hug her. "How have you been?"

Caroline allowed him to hug her and then she pulled back, shrugging. "I've been okay, just…living, I guess. What about you? Are you here visiting Tyler? Is he here?"

She gauged his reaction carefully and didn't see any cause for alarm as he shook his head, smile in place. "He's stepped out for a bit, but he'll be back soon. Do you want to come in?"

Caroline was going to say something, she was sure of it, she just couldn't remember what. She felt her thoughts physically flee her mind as her eyes latched onto the bright white bandage that was wrapped around Mason's right here…right where she had stabbed her attacker.

She felt her lips quiver and she took a slight step in retreat as a whimper flew from her lips and her wide eyes flew to his. Mason raised an eyebrow and looked at his hand, teeth clenching in his mouth as he hung his hand.

"Damn," he murmured, laughing lightly. "You weren't supposed to see that."

Before Caroline could turn and run, Mason reached for her and yanked her over the threshold and into the house, slamming her into the closet wall as he shut the door tight. She struggled, scratching at his eyes and using her elbows to jab him hard in the ribs. She tried to grab for his injured hand but he just pulled his other hand back to deliver a hard blow to her temple that send her flying farther into the house and to the floor where she jarred her already painful bruises against the wooden floor.

"It was you!" she sobbed, scooting backward until she hit the far wall with her back.

She watched Mason saunter towards her with his hands at his sides, his chest heaving as he regained his breath from fighting her. His normally kind green eyes blazed angrily as he stalked her slowly, as if she were his prey.

"Of course it was me," he chuckled darkly. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

"But – but it was a woman who attacked me!"

Caroline heard female laughter and then Jules was turning the corner and entering the room, her light brown hair curled around her face as she grinned at her. Caroline instantly recognized her eyes, the eerie grin as she smiled evilly, an oxymoron. How could someone smile evilly? Caroline had never seen someone do it before she was attacked.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she sobbed, hands going to hold her bruises as they began to ache. "What did I do to you?"

Jules sighed and kissed Mason on the cheek as she crossed the room to kneel in front of Caroline. She reached out to stroke Caroline's bruised cheek and she patted her skin gently, her fingers running through Caroline's now tangled blonde waves.

"You stole my future," Julies whispered, shaking her head sadly. "Now I'm ending yours."

Caroline didn't have time to brace herself before Jules reared back and smacked her hard across the face, sending her head forward to smack against the hardwood floor. The last thing Caroline remembered was seeing Jules grin and run to kiss Mason, jumping into his arms.

"We did it!" she whispered gleefully. "We got her!"

Caroline slipped unconscious, silently kicking herself for ignoring her instincts.

* * *

**Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 Playlist:**

_Eliza, On the Run_ **- Call It Arson  
**_Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe, Backseat Freestyle, Money Trees, Swimming Pools (Drank), Poetic Justic_**e - Kendrick Lamar  
**_Palomino, Sway, Unless I'm Le_**d - Mates of State  
**_Your Gravest Words_** - The Lawrence Arms  
**_Pants, Lipstick_** - Lemuria**

* * *

Bonnie was waiting in the living room of the apartment when she realized that something was wrong. Caroline had been gone for over 3 hours and she'd promised it wouldn't take that long. Bonnie felt panic seize her chest and she grabbed her cellphone, dialing Caroline's number and listening to the shrill ringing. Caroline's voicemail picked up and Bonnie sucked in a harsh breath as she clicked end, rushing into the kitchen.

She paced back and forth for a few moments before shaking herself out of her shocked stupor, her need for clarity striking her suddenly. She couldn't do anything by panicking and the police couldn't do anything until Caroline was missing for over 24 hours. She needed to call them; she needed to tell the cops that Caroline had been a martyr and went to Jules' house.

Painfully, Bonnie had to admit to more than just herself that she hadn't been a good friend in letting Caroline go to Jules' house. She unlocked her cellphone and quickly scrolled through the contacts until the police department lit her phone and she clicked call, listening to the ringing on the other end.

"Los Angeles PD, how may I direct your call?"

"I need to speak to the Chief," Bonnie told the receptionist in a strong yet broken voice. "It's Bonnie Bennett."

"Allow me to direct your call, Miss Bennett."

There were a few clicks, a quick monotone signal, and then three rings before the Chief answered his phone. "Chief."

"Chief, it's Bonnie," she began breathlessly, tears stinging her eyes. "Chief, I did something stupid; I let Caroline go to Jules' house."

"Who's Jules', Bonnie?" he asked urgently.

"The woman who we think is the attacker. Or – or _working_ for the attacker, we don't know. She wanted to go because she was tired of waiting and I didn't _stop_ her and now she hasn't come back and it's been 3 hours!"

"How far does Jules' live from you?"

Bonnie thought silently for a moment. "Can't be more than 10 minutes."

"So something's happened." His voice was full of dread. "I can't do more than visit the residence, Bonnie; I can't go inside."

"I know," she whispered. "But you have to do _something_."

"Stay calm, Bonnie. I'll take my deputy and we'll go to the residence, just tell me the address and we'll go check it out. If anyone is there, we'll ask some questions and then a warrant to search the home. Hopefully we'll get that soon; I'll call the judge right now."

"Please, hurry," Bonnie sobbed. "She could be hurt."

* * *

Caroline slowly opened her eyes and was rewarded with a sharp slice of pain that ran up the side of her head and went directly into her temple. She groaned and tried to reach up to grasp her head, only to find her hands tied together with zip ties. Panic set in and she began to struggle against them but a dark chuckle from deep inside the darkness of her dungeon made her stop as gooseflesh prickled her skin.

She froze in her spot and whipped her head in all directions, searching desperately for the source of the laughter. She couldn't find it; all she could see was black. Her eyes were tired and her head was throbbing.

"Please," Caroline sobbed, shaking her head back and forth and watching in shock as blood clotted hair fell into her eyes. "Please don't do this."

"I haven't done anything yet."

Jules stepped into the sliver of light Caroline could pinpoint and she felt her heart shudder in her chest. Jules looked crazed; the glint of insanity in her green eyes striking a chord of déjà vu in Caroline as she stared at her attacker once more.

"I think you owe me an explanation." Caroline coughed and spat blood. "If you're going to 'end my future', that is."

Jules stared at her and then shrugged, a small smirk turning her lips. "I suppose you do deserve some sort of explanation, although I wish you already _knew_."

She sighed and dropped down in front of Caroline's crouched position, gently tugging on the hem of Caroline's jeans to straighten them, covering her ankles. Caroline watched in fascination at the gentle way Jules mussed her clothing; the tender way she straightened the straps of her sandals and how her sigh was broken.

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to be famous."

Caroline's eyes snapped to Jules to see that Jules was staring right at her and Caroline nodded. If there was anything Caroline knew about people who were capable of murder, it was that they wanted to be listened to.

Jules cleared her throat. "My father told me that I could be anything I wanted but my mom was one of those sticklers who only wanted me to be important – like a lawyer or a doctor, or something more prestigious. She didn't want me to waste my time in acting school or at Julliard. She didn't want me to waste my entire life chasing that dream.

My dad, god he was a great man. He bought me a plane ticket from Eureka to here. He told me that if I could get here, I would get my dream. My dream would come true. He told me to do that and then come back to him…but do you know what happened?"

Caroline shook her head, tears brimming on her lower lashes.

"_I didn't get the part_." Tears slid down Jules' cheeks and Caroline felt sadness infiltrate her heart.

"I – "

"No, you don't get to talk yet!" Jules snapped, kicking Caroline's thigh.

She couldn't feel a bone break, but her leg definitely didn't enjoy the impact. She groaned and tried to ignore the fire as it swarmed up her leg and what felt like into her veins. She took ragged breaths to squelch the pain and opened her eyes to see Jules heaving above her.

"That wasn't the only thing that happened. That wasn't what really hurt. What really hurt was that my mom called me that night to say 'I told you so'. She wanted to rub my face in it! She wanted me to know that I was the biggest disappointment in her life and that she was disgusted by me. Do you know what her last words were? '_By the way, Jules, your father died this morning'. _Then she hung up. She hung up on me after telling me my daddy died!"

Caroline didn't know what to feel. She wanted to be afraid of Jules but she wanted to help her, as well.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Jules' stared at Caroline was blind eyes, her hatred growing by the moment.

"But what does that have to do with me?"

She shook her head as if she were attempting to remove the thoughts inside of her. "You took my part! You took my part from me! If you hadn't shown up on set, _late I may add_, that part would have been mine!"

Caroline swallowed thickly. "You auditioned for Remy?"

Jules nodded. "Yes, but you wouldn't know that because I don't matter! What sucks even more is that no matter what I do to try and make you quit, no matter what I do to try to ruin your life like you ruined mine, _it doesn't work_! I beat the shit out of you, you get saved and you _still_ get to do the movie! I send you things and the cops are immediately coddling you like a _child_! I put the pictures of you and Klaus on the internet and suddenly it's '_Klaroline getting coffee_, _aren't they presh_?' I can't win!"

Klaroline? They'd already meshed their names together?

Caroline wanted to smack herself for only catching that particular part of Jules' angry rant. She swallowed again and turned her sorrowful eyes to Jules.

"I'm so sorry, Jules," she said earnestly, shaking her head. "I didn't know that happened. I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't. How could you? Your life was perfect and everything was _great_ for you; why would you even _begin_ to think about the other people whose dreams were crushed when you got the part?"

"Don't put that on me! I couldn't have stopped that!"

"No, you couldn't have. But do you know what made it worse, Caroline? Do you? The fact that my dad _died_ because I failed."

"That not true," Caroline ground out between clenched teeth. "He didn't die because you failed."

Jules was heaving for breath as Caroline stared at her, watching her. She could see the way Jules' eyes were glassy with tears and how she had her hands balled into fists, the intensity of her emotion releasing in the simplest of gestures and expressions.

"I'm _sorry_, Jules," she sobbed quietly. "If I could change it, if I could make it so you were given the part, I _would_…but I _can't_. I can't make things go back to how they were and I can't bring your dad back."

Jules' watched Caroline for a moment and Caroline could see her anger waver for the briefest of flickers just before her eyes hardened and she clenched her jaw.

"You don't have to bring my dad back, Caroline," Jules' said sweetly, crossing the room. She stood in front of Caroline, staring down at her as her chest moved rapidly with her harsh breaths. "But you will do something for me before I kill you."

Jules kicked out and connected with Caroline's jaw, making her head snap back painfully hard against the brick wall behind her. She saw stars before her eyesight swirled to black once more.

Jules stared down at Caroline's unconscious body and she wished she could feel some sort of glee or happiness at the sight of her bleeding on the floor of her basement. Of the basement in the house that her father had bought her right before he died. Anger burned anew inside of her and punched the wall and felt the sting as it traveled from her knuckles up and over her palm. She flexed her fingers and listened as Mason's footsteps carried across the ceiling and he walked to the front door.

Jules cocked her head in confusion and walked to the stairs, heading up slowly and quietly so as to not draw attention to herself. The basement door opened into the kitchen and Jules stepped onto the first floor and around the corner, clicking the door shut silently before grabbing a towel to wrap around her bleeding hand. She turned the corner to see the Chief of police standing at her front door with his deputy standing behind him, their faces grim.

"Hello," she said with a kind smile. "How can I help you?"

"Are you Jules Carmichael?" the Chief asked her as she stepped in front of Mason.

"Yes, that's me."

He sighed. "I was informed that Miss Caroline Forbes was going to drop by your residence to speak with you. She told her roommate she would return home quite a few hours ago and she failed to show. Have you seen her?"

Jules shook her head sympathetically. "No, I'm afraid I haven't. Oh, I hope she's okay!"

Mason bit back a smile and Jules continued to act worried.

"Yes, so do we," the Chief said, nodding. "If she drops by, please, let me know. Just call the LAPD and they'll direct you to my office phone."

Jules nodded. "I certainly will. Thanks for dropping by."

She turned to leave and a satisfied smile slid onto her lips as she walked back into the kitchen, the sight of the basement door bringing a full-fledged grin to her face.

Mason smiled after her and turned a sad smile to the police. "I'm sorry about Miss Forbes." He held out his hand for the chief to shake and then quickly realized there was a bandage wrapped around his palm. His face grew pale and he quickly retracted his hand, pulling it behind his back with a nervous laugh.

"Damn work wounds," he chuckled. He held out his other hand. "We'll let you know if anything happens."

The Chief watched Mason closely and then smiled a tight lipped smile, shaking his hand awkwardly. "Thank you, son."

Mason nodded and watched the two police walk back to their cruisers and set back onto the road. He grimaced and shut the door, debating on whether or not he would tell Jules that the police saw his bandage or if he should just let it go. He walked into the kitchen and found Tyler walking through the back door with grocery bags in his hands, setting them on the counter for Jules to ravage through.

"What were the police doing here?" he asked, confused.

"Caroline went missing," Jules' told him as she ripped open a bag of chips. "They wanted to know if we'd seen her or something. I told them we would call if she showed up here."

He paled. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Tyler sighed and cursed under his breath as he accidently smacked his hand on the counter reaching for a chip. "Dammit, ow!"

"You okay?" Mason asked his nephew, ruffling his dark pointy hair as he walked to the refrigerator to pull out a jug of orange juice.

"I'm fine; I just wish you had better aim when it came to throwing darts."

Mason smiled sadly and stared into the refrigerator. He'd _accidentally_ stabbed Tyler's palm with a dart when they were messing around when he'd gotten back from breaking into Caroline's apartment. He couldn't risk the police seeing his bandage and digging into his past, so he hurt the same palm on Tyler just in case the police began to wonder. He was beginning to regret his decision to get his young nephew into the situation. He was regretting more so the fact that Jules was going to break Tyler's heart.

Tyler swallowed a handful of chips and kissed Jules on the cheek, nuzzling her hair with his nose. "I'll be back in a little bit, I have to run to the pharmacy and pick up that cream stuff for my hand."

Jules smiled lovingly at Tyler and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Hurry back."

Tyler grinned and jogged out of the house with his car keys in hand. Mason watched his nephew run down the small driveway and hop into his car, leaving the driveway to head to the pharmacy. Jules appeared beside him and she wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in the scent of his shirt and she cuddled him close.

"He's believing every word," she said with a pleased grin. "We just have to make sure that he doesn't hear Caroline screaming."

"You weren't supposed to let her come here," he replied darkly. "She wasn't supposed to be here and around him. He's not supposed to witness this, Jules."

"He's not _going_ to. They're going to find her body in a ditch somewhere far from here and he'll have _no idea_ that we were a part of it. Then, when this is all over, I'll let him down gently that we're not meant to be. Then you and I can go somewhere and be together."

Mason wanted to believe that Jules wasn't crazy…but she was making him think so much differently.

"Okay," he whispered, closing his eyes against his conflicting emotions. "Okay."

* * *

**Please review and follow me on tumblr at littlegiilbert! I post sneak peaks and other goodies about Vanity and other stories! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ellie Goulding: **_Only You, My Blood, JOY, I Know You Care, Hanging On - Edit, Hanging On - Ahadadream Remix, Halcyon, Figure 8, Explosions, Don't Say A Word, Dead In The Water, Atlantis, Anything Could Happen_

* * *

Klaus was pacing his bedroom when his cellphone began to ring inside his coat pocket, the vibrations halting the moment he pressed accept.

"Yes, hello?" he asked urgently.

Ric sighed on the other end of the line and Klaus' heart dropped into his stomach.

"Ric, what's going on? Why isn't Caroline answering me or calling me back?"

When he'd called Caroline that afternoon to check on her, she hadn't answered. He didn't think anything of it and called her again half an hour later, only to reach her voicemail once again. He knew Caroline enough to know that she didn't normally shower for that long and he began to worry, thinking something was wrong. He called her once more and when she refused to pick up, he knew something was wrong. He'd immediately dialed the police to ask if they knew something but they told him that they couldn't say whether or not she was in trouble, only that he should call Ric, her emergency contact.

"Caroline's missing," Ric told him sharply on a large exhale. "Bonnie called the police when Caroline didn't show up at the apartment after a few hours. She went to the house of the woman who she suspected and she no one has seen her since."

Klaus forced himself to breathe steadily. "Are you telling me that she went into that woman's house, the woman she suspected of attempting to kill her, and she hasn't been seen since?"

Ric was silent.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Why on earth would she do something so idiotic!"

Klaus was enraged at the idea that Caroline could do something so careless; so dangerous. She walked straight into the lion's den without any idea whether or not she was going to make it out again! Hadn't he just explained to her that he couldn't lose anybody else? Didn't she realize how much she meant to him? She went to Jules' house without even _thinking_ about him!

He took a deep breath and calmed his shaking hands, sitting down on the settee in his living room so he could think clearly without tripping over any of Kol's things. He didn't know where his little brother was but he was almost positive that he'd gone to see Bonnie, especially now that he knew what happened.

"She's tired of being victimized," Ric said sternly, breaking him from his reverie. "She's tired of sitting around and waiting for something else to happen. Yeah, she wasn't the smartest for going to the house by herself, but she's no more human that the rest of us – she wanted revenge."

"No, that's what these sick bastards want, and they're going to get it if we don't find her."

Klaus was at a loss. He felt like his heart was caving in inside his chest and he was sure the pain was nearly physical. He felt his knuckles over his heart and tried to calm his nerves, tried to stay calm in general.

"Have you talked to the police?"

Ric sighed. "Yes. They went to the house and spoke to Jules, who by the way, I realized was on the list of woman that auditioned. She didn't get the part obviously but she was very gracious about it over the phone when I called her; I remember that. Anyway, they went and everything seemed fine."

Klaus scoffed.

"They did notice a bandage on the man who opened the door. On his hand."

The mention of a bandaged hand tugged on Klaus' memory strings and he cocked his head, thinking. "What does that have to do about things?"

"When Caroline was attacked in her apartment, she cut the intruder. She sliced his hand open."

Tyler.

Tyler's hand had a bandage on it when Klaus walked him to his car.

"It was Tyler," he murmured, shocked. "Tyler attacked Caroline."

"Who's Tyler?"

"Her ex-boyfriend from her hometown. He's here now, dating Jules I believe. He had a bandage on his hand the other day when he came to visit her at the apartment. The day after her attack."

How could Klaus have been so stupid? He's been right there! The man who'd attacked his girl had been standing right in front of him!

"The police say the man at the door was Mason Lockwood, not a Tyler."

"Why would Tyler have a bandage on his hand as well? They're both staying with Jules, both have injured hands…it doesn't make _sense_."

"No," Ric mumbled, his voice confused. "It doesn't."

* * *

Ric pulled his car up to the front door of the police station and hopped out, barely giving himself enough time to switch off the engine and lock the doors. He hurried in through the doors and went straight back to where the chief was typing on his computer, his eyebrows pursed downward in a frown.

"I need to talk to you," Ric said urgently, pulling out the seat in front of his desk to sit.

The chief looked up and Ric began to speak in hushed tones. "Klaus says that he was at Caroline's apartment yesterday after he took her home from here. He said that her friend from home, _Tyler_ Lockwood, came to visit her and had a bandage on his hand. You told me that it was a man named _Mason_ Lockwood who opened the door with a bandage on his hand. Something is wrong with all of this, Chief. Something's missing."

The chief tilted his head in thought. "Sounds like we have a red herring on our hands. Perry!"

Officer Perry rushed to the chief's desk and he pulled out his walky-talky. "Yes, Chief?"

"Get me a location on Tyler Lockwood. He would have been seen outside of Caroline's home so the deputy's out front should have an idea of what he looks like. There are supposed to be cops outside of Jules' house, too, so if he was there, they'll know if he's still there or went somewhere."

Officer Perry nodded quickly and breezed through the same demands as he spouted them through his walky-talky to the officer's on the other end. There was static and then a miraculously speedy reply came through the line.

_"We have a 10-4 on Tyler Lockwood. He's at the pharmacy on Cherry and 5__th__."_

The chief jumped from his chair and hooked his gun and badge onto his belt, stalking around the desk to clap Ric on the shoulder. "You stay here while we go get him and bring him in. Just for some preliminary questions. If he tells us the right things, he can help us bring this crazy in."

Ric nodded. "I'll be here."

* * *

Tyler was just checking out of the pharmacy, hand reaching for his bag with his cream for his hand when he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned confused eyes behind him to find three police men standing right at his back, their faces grim.

"Tyler Lockwood?"

He nodded, even more confused than before.

"Yeah, that's me. What's this about?"

"We're bringing you to the station for some preliminary questioning concerning Caroline Forbes."

Tyler cocked his head and then shook it from side to side. "I don't understand. Why are you questioning me?"

"It's not about you, son," the officer told him. "But you could be of help. Do you know your rights?"

He nodded again and allowed them to put him inside a squad car and then drove him a few blocks away to the police station. They brought him inside and did everything they could to make him feel like he wasn't in trouble, though he sure felt like he was. They took him to a room that was divided in half with a two-way mirror, the kind where another person on the other side could see him, and they gave him a small Styrofoam cup of water.

A few moments later the chief walked into the room with a tape recorder and a pad of paper. He set all of his items down and then pulled out the chair across from Tyler, sliding into the seat and staring at him.

"Why am I being questioned?" Tyler asked, genuinely confused.

"Did you hear that Miss Forbes went missing?" the chief asked.

Tyler nodded.

"When?"

"Maybe half an hour ago. Jules, my girlfriend, and my uncle Mason told me when I got home from the grocery store."

The chief nodded, too. "I see. How did you hurt your hand, Mr. Lockwood?"

Tyler scrunched his eyebrows and glanced at his bandage covered hand.

"Mason has lousy aim and threw a dart right into the middle of my palm."

Chief nodded again and sighed. "Care to show me?"

He shook his head and took the tape off the bandage, unwinding the dressing until it came off of his skin and dropped into his lap. He placed his hand on the metal table with his palm facing up and the chief leaned over his open fingers to gaze down at the circular puncture wound on his upturned palm.

"Hmm," he murmured, realizing instantly that it was in fact a hole from a dart and not the slice of a knife. "You're telling the truth."

"Of course I'm telling the truth."

He pulled his hand back to his lap and sighed heavily, shaking the nerves from his stiff neck. The chief pulled his chair closer to the table and leaned over it, getting Tyler's attention.

"This is important, kid," he said, gravely. "You're in trouble whether you know it or not. Your girlfriend Jules, you know the one, she auditioned for the same movie that Miss Forbes got the part in. We didn't think that was enough evidence to try and use against her for Caroline's attack, but then you show up from '_back home'_ and you're dating her. _Then_ you mysteriously have an injury on the same hand that Caroline sliced on her intruder, but so does your uncle Mason. Now you say Mason _did_ that to your hand? How did he hurt his?"

Tyler had grown pale and he shook his head with haunted eyes. "I have no idea. He just – he just had the wrapping on it when I woke up yesterday morning."

The chief was silent for what felt like a long time and Tyler felt his stomach grow queasy at the idea that his Uncle Mason and girlfriend had anything to do with Caroline's attack and now disappearance. How could they do such a thing?

"I walked into the house right after you guys left," Tyler said suddenly making the chief's head perk up. "I came in right when you guys were leaving and they were acting weird. Jules would barely look at me and Mason looked…_guilty_. Like…like maybe he _knew_ something. They told me Caroline was missing and I didn't want to see it but…"

"But what?"

He sighed. "Jules looked _happy_. Not outright grinning but her eyes…they were brighter – like she was actually getting _enjoyment_ out of Caroline being missing."

The Chief held up his hand then and Officer Perry stepped inside the enclosed room, just coming inside enough to grasp the doorknob in his hand. The chief exhaled and looked at him with a peculiar expression on his face – an expression Tyler couldn't quite place.

"Go to the judge and get an express search warrant for Jules Blackwell's apartment. Got it?"

Officer Perry nodded brusquely and left the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The Chief looked at Tyler and he licked his lips hurriedly, eyes full of thought.

"You're going to have to help us with this, son. You're going to have to go back into the house and you're going to wear a bug, got it? It'll be a small chip and it'll go right on the inside collar of your shirt. You're going to go back home, act normal for the most part, but then start to talk about Caroline, okay? Pretend you hate her and that you're glad she's gone. Pretend to be happy that she's missing and we'll listen for Jules' and Mason's response. Depending on what they say, you need to find Caroline, okay? We're pretty sure she's in the house somewhere."

Tyler couldn't breathe. There was too much going on – he was being made responsible to go against his girlfriend and his uncle.

"I don't know if I can…" he murmured with his eyes sorrowful. "I want to help…I _do_…"

"Tyler," the chief said with a voice hard as ice.

Tyler stared at the chief and he felt his resolve crumble.

"Okay," he whispered, shutting his eyes. "I'll do it."

* * *

Bonnie and Kol sat on the couch in Bonnie's apartment as she stared at the wall with a now lukewarm cup of tea in her hands. She hadn't said a word since she'd let Kol inside and he could see the heartbreak in her eyes, the way she held her body different – a body he'd come to known as well as his own.

With a sigh, Kol grasped the wasted cup of tea in his hands and set it on the table in front of him as he reached around Bonnie's shoulders to pull her into his lap. Just as usual, she molded to him perfectly: face going into his neck as she held onto his shoulders. She sighed shakily and promptly burst into tears as he began to massage her back, shushing her gently as he kissed her hairline.

"Don't cry, love," he whispered, rocking her. "Caroline is a fighter. She will survive this."

Bonnie pulled away from his to stare into his face. Kol felt his heart break in his chest at the sight of her tear stained cheeks and wobbly chin.

"I let her _go_, Kol! I let her go that _house_, I left her _here_ to get _attacked_, and I left her! I let all of this happen!"

"No."

Bonnie whimpered and shut her eyes.

"No, Bonnie. This is not your fault. I will not let you take the blame for this. This is the fault of a crazy woman who gets her jollies out of torturing Caroline and by association, torturing you. I will not let you take the blame for her when she is in serious need of mental help."

Bonnie's laugh was watery. "What do you know about mental help?"

Kol's grin was slow and cheesy. "Well, as a matter of fact, I know quite a bit. I'm actually going back to Stanford to finish out my Psychology degree. I'm going to be working in a mental institution with teenagers."

Bonnie's eyes opened wide and she stared at him in surprise.

"What?"

"You're…you're going back to school?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

Kol's eyes went soft then and he gently cupped her cheek, swiping away a tear that barely managed to escape her quickly drying eyes. "Because of you. You've done something to me. If you'd seen how I treated my family – how I treated Klaus only a day before I met you – you'd understand the change you've had on me. You'd _see_ it. I didn't think I'd ever find my path, Bonnie, but you've showed me my path. You make it seem like the path was always there, I was just blind to it."

Her tears were happy tears then as she cascaded down her already damp cheeks. "I'm so happy for you."

"Bonnie." He sighed, closing his eyes to lean his forehead against hers. "I love you."

Bonnie laughed on a broken sigh and she threw her arms around Kol's neck, crushing herself to him. She kissed the shell of his ear where she knew he loved to be kissed and she tightened her grip on him.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Elijah and Elena sat on his couch with a glass of bourbon in their hands. They both sat staring ahead at the large tapestry hanging on his far wall when Elena sighed drastically, shaking her head.

"I never expected my first actress to go missing."

Elijah didn't mean to smile, but her terminology was so crass he couldn't help but let the small grin take over his lips.

"I can't imagine it's a cheery thing to hope for."

"I just – ugh! I feel so bad and there's nothing I can do! I'm just her agent! I'm not her friend or her sister or her mother or anything like that! If something happens to her…"

"Nothing is going to happen to her."

Elijah took her glass and set it on the glass coffee table, falling back beside her to grasp her hands in his lap. He gently rubbed the skin of her hand with the pad of his thumb, smoothing her flesh underneath his roughened thumb.

"I would like to believe that you and I have met the same girl. Caroline Forbes is a strong, independent woman who takes the world as it is given but changes it to how she sees fit. She survived her first attack and then fought off the second. She grows stronger with each day and she'll only get stronger now. She has to be strong to be in love with my brother, that's for sure."

Elena smiled, sniffling as a tear fell down her tan cheek. Elijah wiped it away and kissed her forehead, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Thank you," she whispered, breathing in the scent of his skin.

Elijah smiled and closed his eyes, listening to her breathing and the relishing in the way his heart remained content.

"Always, my dear."

She pulled away then to look into his eyes, a peculiar expression on her face. "You said she loves Klaus…"

"She does."

She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

"You've not noticed the way they look at each other? The way they interact with each other? They're entire body languages change when they're around each other."

"Does he love her?"

Elijah grinned and shrugged. "Only time will tell."

* * *

**Please review! ALSO: I'm going to be posting a new story once Vanity is finished! If you wish to read it, save me to your author alerts! This is the summary:**

_When the Mikaelson's seek refuge in the small village of Mystic Falls, Caroline is entranced by the mystery they bring. She knows what they are, but she doesn't know of Klaus' curse – or that he's searching for the cure that is supposedly hidden in her own village. Caroline agrees to help Klaus find the cure for his curse and to save him – but the price could be her heart. _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 Playlist:**

_All songs from the albums Damnesia and This Addiction by Alkaline Trio, plus the song Calling All Skeletons_

* * *

Tyler exhaled harshly and stared at the back door of Jules' house, his nerves on fire as he fully realized what he had to do. The bug tickled the back of his neck where it was strategically placed on the inside of his shirt collar and he felt like his skin was on fire with anxiety.

"All right, let's do this."

He shook out his shoulders and charged to the back door, walking inside and sliding it shut behind him. Mason appeared in the kitchen with Jules' sharply on his heels and Tyler looked closely at their faces. Jules' looked normal, except for the serene happiness in her eyes that Tyler wasn't used to seeing. They hadn't been dating that long, but he still wasn't used to that particular expression.

Mason looked even guiltier than Tyler remembered and that worried him. He had an embarrassed flush to his cheeks and then Tyler realized that he had a small swatch of red lipstick on the collar of his shirt – the same color that Jules was wearing. Tyler felt his heart squeeze in his chest and he tried to shake off the disappointment that flared in his mind.

"Hey," he greeted awkwardly, immediately going to the refrigerator. He pulled out a gallon of orange juice and took a swig, swiping the back of his hand over his lips to clean off the excess juice.

"Where'd you go?"

Tyler turned around to see Mason staring at him as Jules paced in front of the basement door. "I told you; I went to get the cream for my hand."

Mason looked at Tyler's hand and raised an eyebrow.

"Where is it?"

"I forgot it in the car. I was gonna' run out and grab it later when it started to hurt."

Mason nodded and sighed, looking at the ground. "Sorry about your friend."

Jules' head snapped up and she stared at Mason's back. Tyler shrugged and pursed his lips. "She broke up with me, I couldn't care less. I'm glad she's gone."

Jules stared at Tyler in shock and then a wide grin split her lips. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said casually. "Karma, if you ask me."

She came around Mason then and threw her arms around Tyler. "That's great!"

"Jules."

She let go of Tyler and they both looked at Mason to see his grave expression. He was shaking his head back and forth slowly, his irritation growing and his patience getting thin.

"Don't."

"Don't what? Tyler just said – "

"It doesn't matter what he just said, he didn't mean it. Tyler doesn't hate like that."

Tyler watched the two of them interact and felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He knew the police were listening and he could tell they were going to be interested in what they were hearing. Hell, he was interested in what he was hearing.

So far, Mason and Jules were acting entirely too close for Tyler to be comfortable with it. Now she was reacting to his statement with excitement – like she was going to share something with him. His instinct told him to press the issue and he did, setting the orange juice carton back in the fridge to face them fully.

"What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

Mason continued to glare at Jules but she disregarded him and grinned at Tyler. "Couple of things, okay I – "

"Jules, _shut up_!"

Both Tyler and Jules jumped at the sound of Mason's slamming his hands down on the kitchen island. His face was beet red and he was breathing heavily, his hands curling into fists.

"If you don't shut up right now, I will _make_ you shut up. Do you understand me? Tyler, I need to talk to Jules for a minute if you'd please leave."

Tyler was sure that he got enough information out of the two of them that he could, so he nodded. "Yeah, all right."

He skirted around Jules, refusing to touch her. The thought of his skin on hers made bile bubble in his stomach and he felt sick. He darted past Mason and chanced a glance at the basement door to see the smudges of bloody fingers along the doorknob and frame, solidifying his suspicions that if Caroline was in the house, she was being held in the basement.

Next step was getting to her.

* * *

Caroline's head felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't tell how long she'd been in the basement, but there was no longer any source of light coming through the small window just above the wall she was leaning against. She thought she'd heard yelling a few hours before, but no one had come to check on her since then. Jules hadn't come back to blame her for her life falling apart and Mason hadn't come downstairs since he brought her some water to drink.

Caroline knew Mason wasn't a part of it by choice. She could see it in his eyes – the way he handed her the water. The way he secretly gave her advil for her pain. She knew the way love made people act – she knew the things it could make people do. Mason was only helping Jules because he felt like he had to.

Just then, the door to the basement opened and Caroline waited patiently for whoever it was to emerge into the slice of light offered by the crack in the door. She heard heels coming down and her stomach instantly roiled knowing it was Jules who was slowly descending the staircase.

"There's been a change of plans," she announced with an annoyed lilt to her voice. "We might have to move you."

Caroline's heart sped up in fear as Jules came closer.

"You're not going to talk anymore?"

She remained silent and that earned a harsh kick to her ribs. She screamed in pain only to have Jules' clammy hand clamp down on her mouth, silencing her.

"That's more like it, but I'm afraid you can't go screaming all willy nilly like that anymore. Ty-Ty's upstairs and Uncle Mason doesn't want his innocent nephew to know about you."

She looked gleeful and Caroline felt her more from that than anything.

"Like I was saying, we might have to move you. Tyler seems to getting this weird side to him that Mason isn't fond of and well, we're disagreeing on that. I want to clue Tyler in on what's going on down here because he hates you just as much as I do, but Mason won't let me."

Caroline wanted to cry at the idea that Tyler hated her enough to see her being tortured like this. She'd hoped that he could help her.

When Caroline didn't respond, Jules' reared back and smacked her hard across the cheek, making her head slam into the brick wall behind her. She groaned, seeing stars and biting back the desire to vomit from the nausea that flared to life upon impact.

"I'm tired of playing games with you, Caroline. I thought torturing you would be enough, but it's losing its charm. I think it's time we finally end this, don't you?"

No, she didn't think so.

Jules stared at her with cold, unfathomable green eyes when she heard footsteps just above them. Jules looked at the ceiling and grumbled something incoherent under her breath, standing up straight and walking to the bottom of the stairs.

"We're far from over."

She walked back up and Caroline let her head fall gently back against the bricks. All she had been thinking of for the last few hours had been Klaus. How he'd looked that morning in the kitchen as he held her. The way he felt underneath her hands. How his heartbeat accelerated when she kissed underneath his ear and gently bit down on the skin of his jaw.

She wanted to be with him that that moment. She wanted to be curled up against his side as his hand lazily dragged back and forth against the skin of her shoulders. She could feel herself slowly slipping away and she couldn't stand it. She couldn't leave Klaus just when she'd found him.

She needed to fight for him just like she always had. He deserved that from her.

The idea of dying made her want to curl into a ball and cry, but not because she was afraid to die. Death didn't frighten her like it used to. More so because she was leaving a life she'd only recently begun to feel was right. She'd started a career she saw herself doing for the rest of her life, she'd finally fallen in love with the most amazing person she'd ever met, and she'd made long lasting friendships she hadn't thought she could.

Caroline straightened her back through the gut wrenching pain and looked forward at the wall, thinking of a plan. She didn't know how she was going to survive this, let alone escape, but she had to.

She had to for herself, but she refused to die without seeing Klaus one last time.

* * *

Tyler walked into the kitchen to find Jules emerging from the basement, her eyes glassy and her knuckles red. He'd been sitting in his bedroom when the shrill whine of a scream filled his ears and he'd bolted off of the bed and out into the hallway, down the corridor and into the kitchen to find Jules. When he saw her knuckles, he knew.

"What happened to your hand?" he whispered, gesturing to her fingers.

Jules looked down at her fingers and groaned, shaking her hair around her face to hide her flushed cheeks. "I can't tell you because your Uncle will kill me."

"Why?"

"Because you're not supposed to know something that's important that I think you'll like. You'll understand where I'm coming from and he just doesn't understand that."

"What do you want to tell me?" Tyler asked her, leading her. "You can, you know? You can tell me."

Jules looked at Tyler and she smiled, caressing his cheek. "It's cute how innocent you are."

"Jules?"

Mason appeared from the living room and he stilled at the sight of her red hands, eyes growing hard. "Problem?"

Jules shook her head and rolled her eyes. "No, there's no problem. I was just getting a glass of water to take to my room."

Tyler wanted to correct her. He wanted to say 'our room,' but he didn't. Her slip up was just another sign that she was hiding something from him – something important.

"Good, that's what I thought."

Something clicked inside of Jules then, something dangerous. She stopped walking out of the room and set the glass of water down on the counter, backing up so she could look at Mason. "I'm afraid you think you're in charge here, Mason," she murmured darkly, shaking her head. "You're wrong."

Suddenly, Jules reached behind her and grasped the largest knife in the rack, pulling it out with a large sigh of metal against metal. She jerked the knife forward and into Mason's belly, pushing in and then quickly yanking the weapon back out. Mason cried out in shocked pain and crashes to his knees, hands cupping the wound in his stomach as blood seeped through his closed fingers.

"No!" Tyler yelled, dashing for his uncle. He whipped his head in the Jules direction to see she was grinning, all of her teeth showing against the dark backdrop of the sunless kitchen. "What did you do!?"

Jules laughed manically and dropped the blood covered weapon on the ground, splattering Mason's blood on the cabinets. "I'm getting what I want, Tyler. I'm getting everything I want. You wanted it, too! You hate Caroline and I got her back for you! You were jealous of Mason and I and I got him back for you!"

Tyler shook his head. "Jules, what are you talking about?"

She dropped down beside him and cupped his cheek, licking her lips to wet them. She continued to smile into his eyes with a profound sense of superiority.

"We're going to take care of all of them, Ty-Ty," she murmured, her grin growing larger. "I promise."

* * *

Caroline was drowsy, dropping in and out of consciousness. She could hear yelling and then a loud thud that pulled her completely out of slumber and made her drunkenly alert. She stared at the door just as it burst open and Mason toppled feet over head down the stairs, plummeting towards the floor. Caroline was so weak, so exhausted, that she could hardly utter a noise as he crashed to the concrete floor and lay in a bloody heap.

Caroline's eyes whipped back to the open doorway and she saw Jules staring right back at her with an evil on her lips.

"I thought you might be lonely," she said with a demented giggle.

The door slammed shut and Caroline struggled against her confines to reach Mason who was nearly unresponsive a few feet away.

"Mason!" she yelled to him, reaching blindly into the pitch black basement to try to touch him. "Mason, answer me!"

"Caroline," he coughed. "I'm so sorry."

She sighed in relief and shook her dirty blonde tendrils out of her face. "Don't be, I'm not angry with you. Just – you have to help me. You have to let me out of here."

Having somebody else in the basement with her, having somebody who was now a hostage like her renewed the fire within her to escape. She could get free of her binds and somehow make it upstairs, only if Mason would do a few quick maneuvers and scoot over to her.

Mason shook his head and blinked hard against the darkness and the fiery pain in his stomach. He cupped the wound again and scooted over to Caroline, his hand reaching for the ropes that were binding her hands together. With one swift yank in the right area, the ropes broke free and Caroline held her wrists rightly, rubbing out the pain and swiping the blood away from her raw, broken skin.

"I am so sorry," Mason whispered again, laying his head in his arms. "I never imagined it would turn out like this. I didn't think she'd go…crazy like this. She just said she wanted to scare you…not hurt you."

Caroline nodded and helped Mason up until he was in a seated position, back resting against the wall. She looked at the bleeding wound in his stomach and sucked in a harsh breath, terrified eyes going to his. She hadn't realized that he was that injured.

"We have to get you out of here."

Mason coughed, shaking his head. "Get out of the house, Caroline – and get Tyler. She'll kill him if he stays."

Caroline nodded, running her hand down Mason's cheek. He was growing cold but she could see the fight in his eyes. She could tell he wasn't going to give up so easily.

"I'll send help," she murmured, tears leaking from her eyes.

She didn't want him to die despite the fact that he'd helped her Jules. She wasn't cruel like her. Mason nodded his head and his eye slipped closed as Caroline stood to stretch out the kinks in her body. She'd been sitting like that against the wall for more than 12 hours and she'd also been hit and kicked multiple times, adding to the pain. Her brain buzzed inside of her pounding skull and she fell backwards against the wall as a wave of dizziness rushed over her and she felt nauseous.

She bet to herself that she had a concussion - probably a bad one. Not to mention the aching pain in her side that eluded her to a possible broken rib or two. She had quite a few new cuts and lacerations, bruises and pains, but she was a fighter. She was going to get out of the house alive and she was going to send help for Mason.

* * *

Tyler watched Jules throw Mason down the stairs and into the basement when he felt his legs go out from under him and he crashed to the floor. He hit the ground with his knees and listened to Jules talk to Caroline about Mason, an evil giggle slipping through her lips as she slammed the door shut.

"This is great!"

She appeared at his side and lifted his arm over her shoulder, pulling him off of the floor. She took him to the couch that was just behind him and he sat on the cushion, falling back against the pillows. Jules cupped his cheek in her hand and turned his eyes to her, an apathetic smile on her lips.

"Everything will work out, Ty," she whispered, nodding profusely. "I promise."

She stood then to walk to the back of the house where the bathroom was and shut the door, clicking the lock softly. Tyler assumed she was cleaning the blood off of her hands and he shuddered, reaching blindly for the bug that was still attached to the back of his shirt. He didn't understand why the cops hadn't burst in to stop her yet and he whispered softly into the piece, keeping his voice low.

"Guys, it's her! She just stabbed Mason and she's got Caroline in the basement!"

Tyler waited for something to happen, for anything to happen. It felt like he sat there for hours, but it couldn't have been more than a few moments. Nothing happened and he grew nauseous, staring at the bug.

It was broken.

He tossed it across the room in disgust and fell backwards again, closing his eyes. His Uncle was dying in the basement along with his ex-girlfriend. His recently crazy and ex-girlfriend was in the bathroom washing blood off of her hands and there was no way for him to signal to the police outside that they should come inside. Not without risking Jules coming out and killing him.

He swallowed thickly and let a quick tear of terror slide down his cheek before he roughly scrubbed it away with the back of his hand. He stared at the opposite wall and came up with plans, none which sounded in the least bit like they would work.

But he couldn't just sit there and do nothing – he had to find a way out.

* * *

Klaus was tired of waiting. He was tired of pacing his apartment in silence, waiting for a phone call that would either swipe his feet out from under him or make him fall to his knees in relief. He grabbed his coat quickly and slid his arms into it, yanking it on over his back and roughly swiping the keys off of the glass table in his foyer. He left the building and went straight to his car where he revved the engine loudly and sped the entire way to the police station, bursting through the front door until he'd stomped through the entire place right to the chief.

"How long will this take?" he demanded quietly, hands slamming down on the chief's desk. "She could be hurt!"

The chief looked up at Klaus sadly and he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid Tyler's bug hasn't been picking up any transmission. We fear we either gave him a faulty piece of it was destroyed somehow. We can't go inside because we don't have probable cause – which means that it would be done illegally and wouldn't stand in court."

"Do you have anyone watching the house?"

The chief nodded and so did Klaus.

"I want to wait with them then. If Caroline is there, and she _is_, then I want to be there when we get her out. I _need_ to be there."

The chief stared at him solemnly for a moment before shrugging with a slight nod of his head. "Fine. You're going in with a vest on and if you so much as think of going inside of that house, you'll be in trouble."

Klaus nodded quickly and swallowed, heart beating fast. "Deal."

The chief escorted him from the building and to his car where they drove in silence to the undercover squad car parked out front and few hours away from Jules' house. Klaus slipped the Kevlar vest on over his coat and he hopped out of the car to jump in the back of the other one, closing the door quietly and watching the chief drive away. The two police men in the front seat made comfortable small talk with him before they realized that he wasn't in the mood to converse with them, so they stopped altogether.

Klaus was too busy thinking about Caroline to possibly notice their silence. He was thinking of how when he got her out, he was taking her back to her home and locking her inside her bedroom, shielding her from the world. He'd keep them both trapped in the confines of her soft white sheets and warm white comforter – the desire to keep her safe restricting his breathing. He would keep her safe from everything. He would protect her.

The sudden realization of what he was thinking hit Klaus like a swift punch to the solar plexus and he wheezed quietly, eyes bulging wide.

_He was in love with Caroline._

The way he was thinking, what he was thinking, how he was thinking – they all added up to one thing: he was deeply in love with Caroline Forbes. He smiled, shaking his head. Of course he was, he was pretty sure he had been since the moment she sat down beside him in Ric's office and opened her sassy red lips to talk back to him. From that moment, Klaus had been completely entranced by the blonde with the quirky sense of humor and killer smile. A day hadn't gone by when she hadn't crossed his mind and now she was only a few houses away, possibly hurt.

Every bone in his body wanted to rush into the house and run away with her – to bring her to safety, but the logical side of his brain told him that was a bad idea. So he waited.

Inside the house, Caroline was sneaking up the staircase from the basement and into the kitchen. There were certain steps she'd realized creaked so she avoided them then, lightly stepping on them so they wouldn't make noise. She made it to the top of the stairs and breathed a silent sigh of relief, easing her hand against the doorknob and twisting it open. The door quietly swung open and she stepped into the dimly lit kitchen, a hiss of pain escaping her lips as she brushed her bruised and broken side against the edge of the door.

She shut the door with a soft click and a nearly silent whimper escaped her lips as she slid in the small puddle of blood that was on the floor just inside the kitchen. She grabbed a hold of the kitchen island and steadied herself just as a figure appeared in the doorway and her heart stopped. She looked up at the shadow and realized immediately that it was Tyler and not Jules. She felt her knees give out from relief and Tyler was there with his arms around her before she could hit the floor.

"Care! Care, are you hurt?"

His hands rushed over her and he pushed her face away so he could see the bruising of her skin and the purple coloring underneath her eyes. Both exhaustion and pain rippled through her body and she just wanted to cry in his familiar arms, but she made herself stand.

"We have to get out of here," she pleaded, eyes dripping tears. "We have to get out before she - "

"Before she what?"

Tyler whipped around and pushed Caroline behind his back. Jules was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a black handgun held tightly within his clenched fingers. Her hands were shaking and she cocked her head to the side quickly, almost like a broken toy.

"What are you doing, Tyler?" she asked, quietly, eyes disbelieving. "Did you set her free?"

Tyler shook his head but he stood his ground. "No, I didn't set her free. But you have to, Jules – you have to let her go and you have to call an ambulance for Mason. He's dying."

"Hopefully," she whispered with a grim smile. "He's already dead."

Her eyes turned sorrowful for a moment and she shook her head. "I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want all of this to happen…but it has to. She has to pay, Tyler. Now move."

Tyler shook his head, too. "No."

Jules stared at him with an apathetic expression and she sighed, closing her eyes. She stayed that way for two heartbeats before her green eyes popped open.

"Okay."

She lifted the gun and Caroline's heart stopped in her chest for the second time in a matter of minutes. "No!" she screamed, shoving Tyler out of the way of the bullet just in time .

The bullet went right past Tyler to Caroline where it slammed into her shoulder and sent her flying backwards into the kitchen sink. She slammed hard into the counter and slid down onto the floor where she laid with her eyes closed, head hanging to the side. Tyler screamed incoherently and ran at Jules' knocking her to the ground and beating her against the floor with his hands. He wrapped his fingers around the gun and tossed it across the room to grab her hands and hold them above her head. She was sobbing words that he couldn't determine – something about her father and how she was sorry she'd disappointed him.

All he could think was that he hoped the police outside heard the gunshot and were on their way in, because he didn't know how much longer he could hold her and now both Caroline and Mason lay dying only a few feet away from him.

* * *

Klaus wasn't sure what he'd heard, but he could tell by the abrupt shift in the two policemen in the front seat of the car that it wasn't good. They both reached for their guns at the same time and Klaus heard through the blood rushing in his ears the mention of a gunshot.

"No!" he yelled, hopping out of the car.

He ran. He ran right to the house, no falters in his steps even as the police called for him to get back to the car. He ran to the front door and banged against it uselessly, finding it locked. He shook his head blindly and dashed around the side of the house to the backdoor where he found the lock opened and ready for him to burst through the door. He kicked the door open and the wood panel crashed into the kitchen, slamming against the island and falling off to the side.

Klaus could see Tyler attempting to restrain a completely crazed woman with wild eyes and a beat red, tear stained face. His eyes flickered around the room as quick as a blink and that's when he saw Caroline out of the corner of his eye. He fell to his knees and crawled to her, cradling her against his body to warm her skin which had grown so cold.

"Caroline, love?" he whispered, sobs wracking his chest and body. He was shaking like a leaf as he tenderly pushed the sodden hair off of her face. "Talk to me, darling."

Caroline's blue eyes opened to the smallest of cracks and she smiled through two freshly split lips, hand coming up to gently cup Klaus' cheek.

"You found me," she murmured as a tear slipped down her cheek. She sobbed once and closed her eyes against the wave of tears that fell down her cheeks. "You found me."

Klaus pulled her up to push his lips against hers and then the rest of her face, barely registering the police men running into the house. He didn't quite notice how they pulled Tyler away from Jules and sat him in the next room to calm him. He didn't look as they restrained Jules in handcuffs and dragged her from the house. He didn't quite realize that they'd gone into the basement and retrieved a barely conscious Mason who was badly injured.

"I love you," he told Caroline, shaking his head. "I can't believe it took me so long to tell you, but I do. I love you, Caroline Forbes, and that's why you have to live through this, okay?"

She laughed quietly and nodded, a pained grimace crossing her features for a moment before she settled against him.

"That was my plan, Mikaelson."

A stretcher came into the kitchen and two paramedics lifted Caroline onto the bed and brought the bed up to a locked position, wheeling her from the house. Klaus followed right beside her with her hand tightly wrapped inside his fingers, her pulse beating slowly compared to his racing heart.

"I'm right here," he said to her. "I'm not going anywhere, love."

Caroline's body was on fire, but she was happy. She looked into Klaus' eyes and saw the love there. She could see the way he was fighting back stronger tears and she was proud that he'd come as far as he did.

"I'm going to live through this, Klaus," she told him sternly. "And when I get out of the hospital this time, we're going to finish this fucking movie and then we're going to go on a really long vacation. Deal?"

The medics lifted her into the back of the ambulance and Klaus hopped in after her, sitting right next to her so he could still clasp her hand in his.

"Deal."

* * *

**Please review! This was the last real chapter! There will be a short epilogue posted in about a week when I return from my vacation in California! I'm so thankful for everyone read this story and enjoyed it! I want to thank everyone for reviewing and for taking the time to let me know what you think. This story helped me become a better writer and I think it turned out really well! **

**Expect the epilogue to be up by January 3rd! :)**

**I love you guys!**

**ALSO! I'm going to be writing a new story and if you want to read it, add me to your alerts so you know when it's posted! Here's the short summary:**

_When the Mikaelson's seek refuge in the small village of Mystic Falls, Caroline is entranced by the mystery they bring. She knows what they are, but she doesn't know of Klaus' curse – or that he's searching for the cure that is supposedly hidden in her own village. Caroline agrees to help Klaus find the cure for his curse and to save him – but the price could be her heart. _


	20. Epilogue

Klaus watched Caroline as she lay on the ground, her clothing soaked to the bone and her face covered in some slices – some real and some fake. Her body was launched into the air with thin, nearly invisible wires that made her twirl in the air as she thrashed her arms in and out of the cyclone of water and violent wind around her.

"Remy!" he screamed, tears falling down his face. "Remy, no!"

She kicked and punched through the walls of water and wind, exhausting herself as she begin to slow her fight.

"Remy, fight!" William yelled to Caroline.

All of a sudden, Caroline's body fell from the cyclone and she crashed down against the thick mattress of padding on the floor.

"Still rolling!" Ric called from his directors' chair.

Set workers rushed in and Caroline hopped off of the mattress to lay in the dirt once more, her eyes shut against the lights beaming down on her as the wind and rain died down. William dashed to Caroline, tripping over his feet blindly as he fell down beside her and pushed the hair off of her face.

"Remy!" Klaus bellowed again, breaking free of his spot on the ground where he'd been trapped by Illusion to hop onto his feet and sprint to Caroline.

"Remy, Remy wake up! Remy please wake up!"

Klaus was sobbing as he pulled Caroline's limp body across the ground and into his chest, rocking her back and forth. He put his nose in her hair and kissed the skin of her forehead over and over, soothingly rubbing her scalp.

"I love you, Remy."

Caroline began to cough up water then, spewing it out all over her lap and Klaus' arms. He looked at her in shock and then crushed her to his chest once more, laughing as tears dripped from his eyes.

"Thank god," he murmured into his blonde tresses. "Just – thank god."

Caroline pulled away from Klaus and tilted her head, eyes sleepy. "Nick? Did we win?"

Klaus nodded and laughed again, shaking his head. "Yeah, we sure did."

"That's a wrap!"

The entire studio was filled with the sound of roaring cheers and happy crying. Hugs were given, kisses were exchanged, and handshakes were passed around throughout the cast. Ric was crying as he sat in his chair, his head shaking back and forth in astonishment.

Caroline bounced over to him and he smiled at her lovingly, hangs going to cup her cheeks.

"You did it, Ric!" she exclaimed. "You did it!"

He shook his head. "No, you did it."

She laughed through tears and squealed in delight as Klaus wrapped his arms around her middle and swung her into the air, spinning her around and round as he closed his eyes. He dropped her back to the ground and spun her to face him; his hands cupping her cheeks just like Ric, but Klaus tipped her head back and rubbed his nose against hers.

"I love you," he whispered against her waiting lips.

Caroline sighed and smashed her lips against Klaus', wrapping her arms around his neck as she crushed herself to him.

"I love you," she murmured just as she pulled away. "Thank you for saving me."

Caroline didn't only mean literally, for he truly had saved her life – she was also talking about her heart – because Klaus did more than just keep her alive.

He completed the heart she hadn't even realized was missing something.

* * *

**Thank you all so much for reading and please review! This was final piece to the story! I'm so thankful for everyone read this story and enjoyed it! I want to thank everyone for reviewing and for taking the time to let me know what you think!**

**I love you guys!**

**ALSO! I'm going to be writing a new story and if you want to read it, add me to your alerts so you know when it's posted! Here's the short summary:**

_When the Mikaelson's seek refuge in the small village of Mystic Falls, Caroline is entranced by the mystery they bring. She knows what they are, but she doesn't know of Klaus' curse – or that he's searching for the cure that is supposedly hidden in her own village. Caroline agrees to help Klaus find the cure for his curse and to save him – but the price could be her heart._

_P.s. - follow me on Tumblr for spoilers to my stories, sneak peaks, updates, and more! I'm alccolaholic!_


	21. Authors Note: Sequel?

**Sequel? :]**

**There may or may not be a sequel in the works!**

**Would you guys be into that?**

**Let me know!**

**Ari ;]**


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